Wolverine Digest

Three Takeaways from Michigan Basketball’s Win Over Indiana

A look at Tuesday night's victory.
Justice Steiner|
Elliot Cadeau drives against an Indiana defender
Elliot Cadeau drives against an Indiana defender | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

The No. 3 Michigan basketball team picked up its third consecutive victory on Tuesday evening, taking down Indiana 86-72 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Elliot Cadeau led all scorers with 19 points. Morez Johnson Jr. finished with a game-high eight rebounds, while Yaxel Lendeborg finished with a team-high four assists.

It was a balanced offensive attack overall for Michigan, with six different players scoring at least nine points.

Here are three takeaways from the 14-point victory. 

Elite Defense…Most of the Time

Coming into the game, Indiana averaged nearly 82 points per contest, meaning Michigan held the Hoosiers 10 points under their season average.

The first 10 minutes of Michigan’s defense was nothing short of impressive. It took nearly six minutes for the Hoosiers to score a basket, mostly with struggles to find good looks. The size advantage, length and ability to switch for all five Wolverine defenders created a lot of problems for IU.

In the opening 10:05, Indiana shot 1-for-15 from the floor and 0-10 from deep. Yaxel Lendeborg blocked two jump shots during that time, while Morez Johnson Jr. blocked one.

Indiana did find ways to get shooters open in the back half of the first 20 minutes, taking advantage of some UofM defenders overhelping off the ball.

The Hoosiers finished the game shooting 40 percent from the floor and 32 percent from deep, which both fall short of their season averages.

Free Throw Struggles

The frontcourt duo of Aday Mara and Johnson Jr. struggled from the line. Mara finished 3-for-7, while Johnson Jr. was 5-for-8. 

In the first half, Michigan shot 1-for-8 from the charity stripe, which was simply terrible. However, the Wolverines did improve in the second half to finish the game 22-for-33 overall, which still falls short of the 70 percent mark.

Too Much Size

Michigan’s size in the frontcourt created a lot of problems for the Hoosiers on both ends of the floor. 

The Wolverines wound up with a massive rebound advantage, finishing the game with 16 more boards than IU (41-25).

Michigan basketball's Morez Johnson Jr. playing defense.
Michigan basketball's Morez Johnson Jr. playing defense. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Johnson Jr. led the squad in rebounding with eight, while Lendeborg and Mara each grabbed seven in the victory.

Defensively, Michigan finished with three blocks, which was led by Mara with three. As mentioned, the size of UofM forced plenty of bad shots from IU, contested shots in the paint and forced shots up late into the shot clock due to an inability to get open looks. 

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Justice Steiner
JUSTICE STEINER

A Battle Creek, Mich. native, Justice Steiner has been passionately involved in sports, currently as the sports information director at Davenport University, an NCAA Division II program, where he covers 12 sports. He also serves as the creative services director for the men's and women's baseball teams. Prior to DU, Steiner worked as a graduate assistant in the sports information office at the University of Louisville, working closely with the women's soccer, women's basketball, men's tennis and softball programs. While at Grand Valley State University, Steiner began his writing career at the Grand Valley Lanthorn. He graduated from GVSU with a degree in advertising and public relations.

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