No. 3 Michigan Continues Its Winning Ways Against Indiana, Wins 73-57
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Michigan's Juwan Howard never had much luck in Indiana's Assembly Hall as a player, losing all three times back in his Fab Five days. But the team he brought to Bloomington on Saturday doesn't look like it's going to lose any time soon.
The No. 3-ranked Wolverines cruised to a 73-57 victory, holding a steady lead throughout to raise their record to 18-1 overall and 13-1 in the Big Ten. They have a three-game lead with three games to go now to secure a conference title, and a top seed in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament.
Howard got big games from his two stars, sophomore guard Franz Wagner and senior forward Isaiah Livers. Wagner finished with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting and he made all eight free throws. Livers finished with 16 points and had four three-pointers, three of them early in the second half that allowed Michigan to pull away by as many as 18 points. Mike Smith added 14 and 7'1" freshmen center Hunter Dickinson had 13.
For Michigan, it was the eighth straight win in the series dating back five-plus years—and the games haven't been close. The past seven games were decided by an average of 18.4 points, with none closer than 12 points.
"Michigan is very good,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "They are very tough to score against with all that size inside. They have amazing size on both ends of the floor and they are very difficult to guard.
"All the accolades they get are well deserved. To me, they are complete and they have an opportunity to do some big things.''
Indiana played without sophomore guard Armaan Franklin, the team's second-leading scorer (11.5 points per game) and best perimeter defender. He injured his foot on Wednesday night at Rutgers and missed the second half of that game. He was in street clothes Saturday, with a boot on his right foot. Indiana was led by senior guard Al Durham, who had 15 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10, but on just 3-for-12 shooting.
Michigan's guards had their way in getting to the spots they wanted, and they moved the ball well. The Wolverines shot 45.8% for the game and made 8-of-21 three pointers. The Wolverines made 17-of-19 free throws.
Indiana has lost three straight games now, and finishes with road games next week at Michigan State on Tuesday and at Purdue on Saturday. Indiana coach Archie Miller, who's on thin ice after a fourth straight season without posting a winning record in the Big Ten, needs some wins down the stretch to keep the wolves at bay.
Michigan has won five straight games now since having to pause for nearly three weeks because of a COVID-19 issues within their athletic department. They haven't missed a beat. They've defeated three ranked teams, including top-10 foes Ohio State and Iowa this week.
The Wolverines host Illinois on Tuesday and then have back-to-back games with Michigan State on Thursday and Sunday to end the regular season. Indiana and Michigan had a schedule game canceled during the Wolverines' pause that game will not be made up. This could be Michigan's first Big Ten title since 2014.
