By Danielle Rumore
The Michigan men's basketball team walked to the lockerroom after the halftime buzzer sounded yesterday and walked into its past.
Michigan dropped an 84-81 decision to Indiana yesterday at Crisler Arena that couldn't help but spark memories of its 72-70 loss at Indiana on Jan. 21.
Despite Michigan's first half domination and a near-career day from forward Maceo Baston, the Wolverines fell to Indiana in a few of the same ways they fell to the Hoosiers in Bloomington.
A hot-handed freshman guard, A.J. Guyton, caught fire in the second half - again - while a hot-handed sophomore named Louis Bullock lost a little fire in the second - again. While at the same time, Baston's steady, solid game was overshadowed by the same outcome.
"We're mad, we're very angry," junior forward Maurice Taylor said. "We got to find out who in this lockerroom really wants to win. There's no explanation for the way we played today."
The first and second halves were like night and day for the Wolverines. They held an 18-point lead at halftime, 43-25, playing arguably their best half this season.
The Wolverines outplayed the Hoosiers, especially at the charity stripe - possibly the difference in the first half. The Wolverines sank 12 of 13 foul shots compared to Indiana's one of three. Three trips to the foul line is usually indicative of a lack of aggressiveness, especially in the post. The Hoosiers' starting three big men - Jason Collier, Charlie Miller and Richard Mandeville - scored a combined six points in the first half.
Indiana's 11 turnovers, and Michigan's 15-0 run halfway through the first, added to the Hoosiers' offensive problems.
"We didn't talk about trying to win the second half," Indiana coach Bobby Knight said. "We just talked about trying to run a little bit different approach on offense and do some things differently."
The momentum turned in the second half, when the Wolverines took a trip into the past. In the Jan. 21 loss at Indiana, Guyton scored all 15 of his total points in the second half. Yesterday, he scored all but five of his 31 total points in the second stanza.
"I guess they tightened up on me in the first half, and figured I can't do nothing in the second half, and they let me go," Guyton said.
Guyton hit 11 of 20 shots from the field, including seven of 12 from 3-point range. The Hoosiers set screens for Guyton, setting up key threes, especially down the stretch.
The Wolverines were up 60-50 with 10:02 remaining in the game when Guyton buried a triple, cutting the Michigan lead to seven.
On the Hoosiers' next trip down the floor, with Bullock guarding him, Guyton controlled the ball near the top of the key. The 7-foot Collier stepped out near the top of the key, and the 6-2 Bullock ran into him. The screen left Guyton open for another triple, cutting the lead to 60-56.
After Taylor gave the Wolverines a 75-69 lead with 1:12 remaining, Guyton burned defender Travis Conlan, launching a three from the right side with 50.6 seconds remaining.
With a three-point lead, Bullock controlled the ball near midcourt, letting the shot clock wind down. He drove to the left side and popped an off-balanced jumper that clanked off the rim. At Indiana, Bullock tried two consecutive 3-pointers - in that case, for the win - that also glanced off the rim. In that game, Bullock finished with 10 points. Yesterday, he finished with 15.
After Bullock's miss with 19.8 seconds remaining, Guyton faked out Conlan, took a step, and let the game-tying triple fly - the one that sent the game into overtime.
"The thing that pleased me most about the whole game was the last basket that put us into overtime that Guyton hit," Knight said. "He makes a shot-fake, he gets the defender up in the air, he comes under, gets squared away, and hits a hell of a shot."
The Wolverines shot just 1-of-7 in overtime compared to the Hoosiers' 3-of-7. Baston buried four consecutive free throws before fouling out, helping Michigan stay close in the overtime period. He finished with 24 points - two short of his career high - and eight boards.
A pick set up for Guyton to shoot the game-clincher. He buried a jumper from the free-throw line off a Neil Reed feed.
"We fought hard but they just did a great job of executing, and they got a couple of guys hot," Bullock said. "One thing about their offense is when they get one guy hot, they do a great job of getting him more and more looks."