At the Buzzer: Indiana 78, Michigan 75

Quick thoughts on a 78-75 win at Michigan:

How it happened

Indiana led by as many as seven in the first half at the Crisler Center, but its sloppiness with the ball was the story of the opening 20 minutes. The Hoosiers shot 50 percent from the field, hit two of their three 3-point attempts and made seven of eight free throws, but still trailed by two at the break. Turnovers were a big reason for that. The Hoosiers committed 10 in the first half. Each time Indiana built a lead, its momentum was stopped by carelessness with the ball. Kel’el Ware, IU’s leading scorer, also logged just eight minutes due to foul trouble. Ware scored nine points in the first half despite the limited run. Trey Galloway’s play was also problematic, as the fourth-year senior was the only player not to score for IU in the first half despite logging 15 minutes.

The Wolverines stretched the lead to four by the first media timeout of the second half on the strength of Olivier Nkamhoua. The Finland native got the better of Malik Reneau, scoring eight straight points out of the locker room. The Hoosiers tied it at 49 on a Trey Galloway layup, but he missed the free throw to complete a 3-point play. Michigan answered with a layup by Tray Jackson to claim a 51-49 lead at the under 12 media timeout. After Ware missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Dug McDaniel’s floater gave Michigan a 56-51 lead and Mike Woodson called a timeout with 9:31 to play. The Hoosiers, however, didn’t fold. IU regained the lead at 60-59 on a CJ Gunn 3-pointer with 7:30 to play.

After Indiana forced turnovers on two straight possessions and didn’t score on either fast break, Michigan tied the game at 66 on a layup by Will Tschetter with 4:49 to play. It was back and forth in the final minutes as Indiana took a timeout with 1:14 to play and the game tied at 73. Out of the timeout, Ware’s hook coming across the lane gave Indiana a 75-73 lead with 53 seconds remaining. Gabe Cupps fouled Dug McDaniel on the next possession and McDaniel split the free throws, making it 75-74. After Reneau couldn’t finish at the rim on the ensuing possession, the ball went out of bounds with just over six seconds to go and it was initially called off Indiana. It was overturned, giving the Hoosiers possession. Terrance Williams fouled Mackenzie Mgbako with 5.7 seconds to play and Mgbako made both free throws to make it 77-74. Indiana then called timeout and elected to foul McDaniel, who missed the first free throw. McDaniel sunk the second to make it 77-75 with 3.9 seconds left. Michigan then fouled Galloway with 2.2 seconds remaining. Galloway missed the first free throw and made the second. Michigan took its final timeout and Indiana put Ware on the inbound pass. Ware tipped the ball away on the pass by Tschetter, giving Indiana its seventh win and a 2-0 start in conference play.

Standout performer

Reneau finished with a team-high 15 points and had six rebounds and two blocked shots in 33 minutes. Ware added 13 points and eight rebounds and Mgbako was the third Hoosier in double figures with 11 points.