Michigan
13-11, 6-6B1G
Indiana
17-7, 7-4B1G
Wolverines' Game-Tying Three Attempt Won't Go at Indiana
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2015
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall)
Score: Indiana 70, Michigan 67
Records: U-M (13-11, 6-6 Big Ten), IU (17-7, 7-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 17,472
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Feb. 12 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill), 8 p.m. CST [ TV: ESPN ]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Zak Irvin tied a season high with 23 points, and the University of Michigan men's basketball team fought back from double digits down to get within two in the final minute, but the Wolverines' final three attempt missed in a 70-67 defeat at Indiana on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 8) inside Assembly Hall. Ricky Doyle (15) and Spike Albrecht (12) also scored in double digits for the Wolverines.
Albrecht hit a triple to get U-M to within six (64-58) with 3:30 to play and within three (65-62) on an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:18 remaining. The teams then traded free throws, with U-M's coming from Albrecht, and the score stood at 67-64 with 43 ticks left. The Hoosiers' Troy Williams dunked on the ensuing possession, but Irvin answered with a three to make it 69-67 with 18 remaining. IU's Collin Hartman hit one of two from the line, setting up a final three-point attempt by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman from the corner. However, his game-tying attempt missed.
U-M opened its scoring with Aubrey Dawkins' 17th three-pointer of the season as the shot clock expired, giving the Wolverines a very early 3-2 lead. The Hoosiers capitalized on second-chance opportunities as they quickly built an 8-3 over the next two minutes. A nifty cut off a Doyle screen led to a wide-open lay-in by Albrecht as U-M trailed by three as the first media timeout hit.
After the timeout, IU's James Blackmon Jr. drained an open three-pointer to double the Hoosiers lead to 11-5. A free throw from Doyle and a driving lay-in off a steal from Irvin capped a U-M surge, cutting IU's lead down to four. However, Blackmon Jr. scored six of IU's next nine points as he continued to probe the interior, hitting two floating lay-ins to push IU's lead to 20-11 at the halfway point of the first half.
Subbing in for Doyle, Mark Donnal made his presence felt immediately, grabbing two rebounds and scoring two inside put backs as well as his seventh three-pointer of the season to put U-M back just five points, 22-17, with five minutes left.
As Indiana focused on interior scoring on U-M's zone, the Hoosiers attacked and maintained a five-point advantage. After a U-M turnover, Blackmon Jr. made his second long range bucket as IU's lead grew to eight, 31-23. A rebound and bucket from Doyle followed by a steal and dunk from Abdur-Rahkman cut U-M's deficit in half, but a triple from IU's Yogi Ferrell quieted any U-M momentum. A pair of Doyle free throws cut the lead to five with 12 seconds remaining, but Hartman sank a driving lay-up as time expired to give IU a seven-point halftime advantage.
Doyle opened U-M's second-half scoring with an up-and-under move, and after a steal by Abdur-Rahkman, Dawkins made a pair of free throws as IU's lead shrunk to just three just a minute in. However, the Hoosiers answered with a Hartman three-pointer and Williams hitting a pair of free throws to push their lead to eight. After a U-M turnover, IU's fast break ended up with an open three-pointer by Robert Johnson, pushing the lead to 11, 44-33, as U-M was forced to call a timeout.
Irvin made five straight points for U-M after the timeout as U-M rallied, but the Hoosiers continued their inside attack, hitting a lay-up to keep an eight-point lead, 46-38 at the first media timeout. A triple from IU's Nick Zeisloft gave the Hoosiers their second double-digit lead of the game, 51-40, before Irvin answered with a lay-up followed by a Dawkins alley-oop dunk from Abdur-Rahkman, forcing an IU timeout.
A Doyle dunk off an Irvin miss and subsequent three-pointer from Irvin on U-M's next possession helped Michigan trail by six, 55-49, with 11 minutes remaining. IU's lead swelled to nine (64-55) with 4:49 remaining, before the Wolverines made their final push.
Michigan will remain on the road as it heads to Champaign, Illinois, on Thursday (Feb. 12) to face Illinois at the State Farm Center at 8 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on ESPN. Earlier this season, U-M opened its Big Ten regular season with a thrilling comeback and 73-65 overtime victory over the Fighting Illini on Dec. 30 at Crisler Center.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
