The Michigan basketball team dropped its regular season finale against Indiana on Sunday afternoon, 75-73. Juwan Howard’s team finishes the Big Ten with an 11-9 record in a hugely disappointing season.
Hunter Dickinson led the way scoring for Michigan with 24 points on 10-17 shooting. The Big Ten tournament now awaits, but UM’s seed is yet to be determined.
Here are three takeaways from another narrow loss.
UM flipped a switch
In the first 15 minutes of the game, Michigan’s offense looked as bad as it has all season. At one point in the first half, the Wolverines were shooting 25 percent from the floor, 12.5 percent from 3-point range and 50 percent from the free-throw line.
With just over four minutes left in the first half, Michigan had just 13 points, and it was doubled by Indiana on the scoreboard. Things were looking awfully bad for a Michigan team struggling for its season.
Down 14 points as the first half drew to a close, Michigan’s Kobe Bufkin and Hunter Dickinson combined to lead UM on a 14-2 streak to close out the opener. Wolverine’s awfully looking offense suddenly clicked on all cylinders.
The momentum continued in the second half as well, as Michigan quickly took the lead over Indiana. The Wolverines opened up a 12-point lead with 12:26 remaining, and within minutes Michigan’s offense went from as bad as it has been all season to as good as it is. has been all season.
Same story, different game
How many more of these games can Michigan get through? Wolverines have certainly suffered their fair share of narrow losses, and Sunday’s game was just another addition to a long list of heartbreaking defeats.
Juwan Howard’s team led by 12 points with just over 12 minutes left in the second half, but much like the game against Illinois, Michigan slowly gave up their lead throughout the second half.
The game against Indiana was surprisingly similar to Thursday’s loss to Illinois, and it’s a game Michigan fans have become accustomed to watching.
Big Ten tournament success or nothing
Going into Sunday afternoon’s game, Michigan likely needed two more wins to feel comfortable with their NCAA tournament hopes. A win over Indiana meant that Michigan would need, probably just one win in the Big Ten tournament to reach the NCAA.
Unfortunately for Michigan, it ended in another narrow loss, but narrow losses do not count in the NCAA Tournament selection process.
The Wolverines will either be the No. 5 or No. 8 seed in next weekend’s Big Ten tournament, and they’ll have to make some serious noise in order to have a case to make the NCAA Tournament.
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