Based on their season average, Michigan should have scored in the neighborhood of ten points on their final eight possessions Saturday evening in Ann Arbor.
But great effort by Indiana along with some luck led to a shutout over the final 5:12 and ultimately became the difference in the game, a 62-61 IU win.
Even just one point on any of the final eight possessions would have forced overtime, and two would have led to a Michigan win.
Let’s take a look back at all eight with another edition of film study.
On the first possession, Michigan never really got into anything. Jett Howard and Hunter Dickinson didn’t appear to be on the same page, as Howard had Miller Kopp on him and called for a Dickinson ball screen. But Dickinson stayed in the post on the same side as Howard, and the Wolverines passed it around the perimeter until Kobe Bufkin was forced to take a well contested three with just a few seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Indiana was fortunate on the next possession, as a miscommunication by Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kopp led to a wide-open Michigan three that Terrance Williams missed.
Jackson-Davis played the entire game and was late getting down the court. Kopp had to pick up Hunter Dickinson in transition. He tried to hand-off Dickinson to Jackson-Davis, but they both ended up in the post and that left Williams wide open.
You could say IU got lucky again on Michigan’s next trip.
Dickinson posted Jackson-Davis out on the wing, and the IU big man gambled a bit when he tried to knock the ball away on the first dribble. That gave Dickinson an opportunity to drive in a straight line to the top of the restricted arc where he turned over his preferred shoulder and put up a left-handed jump hook that went off the back of the rim. Jackson-Davis recovered but he was tired and barely left his feet.
Michigan went back to Dickinson the next time down, but Jackson-Davis did a good job of keeping his post touch ten feet from the basket. When Trey Galloway came down to harass Dickinson he kicked it out to an open Bufkin, who didn’t appear ready to shoot.
Bufkin gave it up but got it right back and looked at Dickinson again but didn’t have a good angle. With the shot clock down to three seconds he attacked off the bounce and took a hurried floater that also hit back iron.
Jackson-Davis found something in his legs this time.
On the next trip, Williams set a back screen on Jalen Hood-Schifino at the top of the key, and that allowed Dug McDaniel to back cut to a driving lane on the opposite end of the floor. McDaniel had a clear path and drove straight down the free throw lane line to the block where he threw up a floater. Jackson-Davis high-pointed the shot and swatted it off the backboard to set Indiana up going the other way.
This was another disjointed Michigan possession that took them late into the shot clock where they were rushed towards the end.
Miller Kopp actually ended up switching onto Dickinson after Jackson-Davis helped him on a ball screen. Kopp did a good job aggressively fronting the post, and here Trey Galloway, likely seeing the mismatch and helping off his man even more than normal, snuck in from behind to steal the post-entry pass.
Kopp was matched up with Howard on the baseline to start this possession.
Dickinson faked a high ball screen and then went to set a pin down screen on Kopp, who did a good job of fighting through, and he was able to get a hand up on what seemed like an ill-advised long-two by Howard.
Galloway and Kopp teamed up with great effort to clinch the game.
Dickinson tried to set a ball screen on Galloway at the top of the key, but Galloway saw it coming and took a great angle to cut off the drive of Bufkin, who had to hit the brakes and kick it back out to Howard.
Aware of the fact that just a couple seconds remained, Kopp got into Howard and gave him no space to get up a good shot. On his heels, Howard could only take one dribble and throw up a desperation shot while fading to his right.
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