ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 20 ranked Michigan Wolverines are riding a four-game winning streak (five out of six) after nearly escaping the Indiana Hoosiers 70-67.
The Wolverines survived another second-half collapse during their road matchup as they approved to 18-5, 10-2 in the Big Ten, but after 23 games this season, they still have a very noticeable flaw, which has bitten them in the rear end a few times this season.
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| Game | Lead | Opponent run | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | +11 | 10-0 | Loss 72-70 |
| Iowa | +16 | 47-28 | Won 85-83 |
| Arkansas | +15 | 57-24 | Loss 89-87 |
| Oklahoma | + 11 | 21-6 | Loss 87-86 |
| USC Trojans | +15 | 25-8 | Won 85-74 |
| UCLA | +18 | 28-6 | Won 94-75 |
| Minnesota | +11 | 10-0 | Loss 84-81 |
| Oregon | +14 | 14-4 | Won 80-76 |
| Indiana | +17 | 32-16 | Won 70-67 |
The Wolverines got up big on the Hoosiers, but in multiple-game fashion, they blew the lead and found themselves in yet another dogfight they blew the lead in multiple-game fashion.
They led by 18 points in the first half and by 17 points in the second half before Indiana went on a 32-16 run to tie the game at 59 with a little over three minutes remaining.
But the men in maize have shown they thrive in close games by outscoring the Hoosiers 11-7 to snap their four-game program losing streak vs. Indiana.
The victory improved them to winners of their last four games by four or fewer points.
“We built a lead, and they came back, and that place erupted,” said head coach Dusty May. “We stayed poised. We stayed together. We didn’t panic. We didn’t flinch, which was a real sign of toughness and maturity. It’s been times when we’ve been hit like that, and we hadn’t responded with the poised that we did today.”
The Wolverines improved to a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten standings, behind the No. 7-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, who boat raced Michigan a few weeks ago.
--> Braden Smith rebounds from poor performance to lead No. 11 Purdue past No. 21 Michigan
Since then, Michigan has gained some footing, boasting a four-game winning streak and an impressive 11-game home winning streak.
They are set to rematch the Boilermakers inside Crisler Center at 7 p.m. on Peacock in a highly anticipated game for the top spot in the Big Ten Conference.
However, they also know they haven’t played their best ball this season, which they’ve noticed.
“We have something to prove,” said Tre Donaldson. “We haven’t played our best basketball, and we’re trying to get there. It’s about that time of the year, and we need to start playing our best basketball, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do. And now we just have to put two halves together.”
The Wolverines were led by Danny Wolf, who dropped 20 points and nine rebounds, while Donaldson and Vladislav Goldin chipped in with 18 each to seal the victory in May’s return to his old stomping grounds.
May grew up in Bloomfield, Indiana, which is about 45 minutes southwest of Bloomington, where his team will be doing battle Saturday afternoon.
He attended Indiana University from 1996 to 2000, serving as the basketball team’s student manager under legendary head coach Bobby Knight.
May began his career in video and administrative roles at IU and USC before accepting the assistant coaching job at Eastern Michigan University, where he worked from 2005 to 2006 under head coach Charles E. Ramsey
“I’m very grateful for this place,” May said. “It’s my foundation, and it’s who I am. It kickstarted my career, and I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for this experience. So I am very grateful for the report I received as I have a lot of relationships here, but make no mistake, we were here to win a basketball game today, and fortunately, we found a way.”
