Hoosiers squander 20 point lead in 2nd half, lose to Michigan 72-66

Following coach Tom Crean’s personal keys to games – smart shot selection and tenacious defense – IU raced out of the gates in its Big Ten home opener against Michigan and seemed destined to notch its first conference win.

But in the end, the basic of all basketball fundamentals doomed the Hoosiers.

IU (5-9, 0-2) squandered a 20 point second half lead, eventually succumbing to Michigan 72-66 in overtime. The Hoosiers made just two of eight free throws in overtime to seal their fate.

The end of the game spoiled a nearly flawless first half in which the Hoosiers built a 17 point lead and limited the Wolverines to just 25 percent shooting while making 50 percent of their buckets.

The Hoosiers extended the lead to 20 early in the second half, but the Wolverines methodically picked away at the lead – cutting it to seven with 12 minutes left and then down to four with less than five minutes left.

“The big thing was poise, poise, poise,” Michigan coach John Belein said. “We cannot win this game if everyone tries to do it all by themselves.”

As the lead grew smaller the once energetic and raucous crowd became quieter and quieter. When the Wolverines hit back to back three’s to send the game into overtime the crowd – and the Hoosiers – appeared deflated.

“Bottom line we did not guard nearly as well in the second half as we did the first,” Crean said.

Michigan hit the first five points in the extra period; that coupled with IU’s inability to hit from the line resulted in the Wolverines stealing the win.

Crean said free throws can be a mystery, and with a young team without a battle proven veteran to be a calming influence, the Hoosiers can be prone to poor free throw shooting such as Wednesday night.

“We don’t know yet how to keep each others spirit alive,” Crean said.

The Hoosiers won’t have much time to think about the loss, as they quickly must travel to Champaign to take on budding rival Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Crean said its crucial for the team to get right back to hard work.

“It’s an unbelievable tough pill to swallow but they’ve got to learn you’ve got to turn right around,” Crean said. “ And get right back at it.”