Dominant first half fuels Michigan Basketball to 86-72 win vs Indiana

Michigan Basketball blew past Indiana 86-72 on Tuesday, fueled by a dominant first-half performance. Here’s how it all went down.

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What is the story about?

The Michigan Wolverines blew past the Indiana Hoosiers 86-72 on Tuesday at Crisler Center. Dusty May’s team was excellent on defense and balanced on offense, improving to 17-1 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play.

Here’s how it all went down.

FIRST HALF

Michigan’s defense was absolutely suffocating in the early minutes, forcing Indiana to come up empty on its first seven possessions — including two turnovers and shooting 0-for-5 from three-point range — as the Wolverines built a 7-0 lead.

Aday Mara scored a hook shot on the opening possession to get Michigan on the scoreboard, then Elliot Cadeau took over by scoring seven straight points to extend the lead to 9-0. Indiana scored its first basket with 14:29 left in the half.

The Wolverines continued to pour it on as Cadeau and Trey McKenney connected on three-pointers to give Michigan a 17-4 lead and force Indiana to call a timeout. Following the timeout, L.J. Cason finished a layup to extend Michigan’s run to 10-0.

Michigan certainly wasn’t bashful from beyond the arc — shooting 6-for-12 from three-point territory in the first 13 minutes of the game — as McKenney, Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett knocked down three straight triples to take a 28-13 lead.

The Wolverines led 40-29 at halftime after shooting 16-for-28 from the field and 7-for-14 from three-point range, but nine turnovers and shooting an abysmal 1-for-8 from the free throw line allowed Indiana to remain within striking distance.

HALFTIME: MICHIGAN 40, INDIANA 29

SECOND HALF

Following a scoreless first half, Yaxel Lendeborg quickly woke up in the second half. He found Mara for a layup on the opening possession and scored five consecutive points to push Michigan’s lead to 48-33.

The Wolverines continued to play well on both ends of the floor, putting together a 9-1 run to extend the lead to 66-41. Michigan made 5-of-7 shots during the run, while Indiana missed four straight shots and went scoreless for three minutes.

Indiana went on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 74-58 with just over five minutes left, but Michigan answered as Burnett found Lendeborg for an alley-oop slam. The Wolverines eventually put the final touches on a third straight double-digit win.

Michigan essentially coasted in the second half, finishing with an advantage in rebounds (41-25), points in the paint (32-22) and second-chance points (16-4) while shooting an impressive 10-for-25 from three-point range.

FINAL SCORE: MICHIGAN 86, INDIANA 72

MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS