Just a day removed from Indiana football capturing its first ever national championship, Indiana men’s basketball traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take on the No. 3 Wolverines. The Michigan crowd inside the Crisler Center had a message ready for the Hoosiers, with one fan holding a sign that read: “Mendoza can’t save you.”
Lacking the aid of Heisman Trophy-winning redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Indiana fell behind 19-4 in the early minutes. The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 25 points in the second half and dropped their fourth consecutive game 86-72 to the Wolverines Tuesday night.
Throughout the losing streak, the Cream and Crimson’s record against Quadrant 1 opponents has fallen to 0-6, as head coach Darian DeVries’ squad still lacks a marquee victory for its NCAA Tournament resume.
Against Michigan, the Hoosiers were never in the game. The Wolverines swarmed Indiana’s offense from the jump. Michigan occupied every passing lane and closed out on every shooter, refusing to allow any space for the Cream and Crimson to operate.
The result was a lack of movement in the Hoosiers’ half-court offense and a failure to find open looks. Indiana was frequently working against the shot clock, forced to take contested shots as time ran out on its possessions.
Five minutes into the first half, Michigan held a 7-0 lead. The Wolverines’ nine first-half turnovers and poor free throw shooting allowed Indiana to keep the deficit at 11 entering halftime. But after five minutes of the second half, Michigan had outscored the Hoosiers 14-6 to extend its lead to 19 points.
“We got off to slow starts at the beginning of both halves, and those were killers for us,” DeVries said postgame. “We dig a hole against a team like this that makes it challenging, but I thought in both halves our guys really fought to try to get back into the game.”
One of Indiana’s biggest challenges was containing junior center Aday Mara. The 7-foot-3 Spaniard has a 5-inch height advantage over the tallest player in the Hoosiers’ rotation — 6-foot-10 senior forward Reed Bailey.
Mara had a major impact in the paint all game. He was a perpetual scoring threat on the interior and an imposing presence as a rim defender. Each of Mara’s 13 points came in the paint or at the free throw line, and he added seven rebounds and three blocks. The Cream and Crimson were outrebounded 41-25 in the game.
“Yeah, it's hard,” DeVries said. “I mean, they're one of the biggest teams in the country, and again, I thought Sam (Alexis) and Reed (Bailey) or Tuck (Tucker DeVries) and Trent (Sisley); they were doing all they could. They're undersized going against those guys, but I thought they battled the best they could.”
Indiana had no answer for Michigan’s size on the glass. Four Wolverines had more rebounds than any Hoosier, and sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. grabbed five of Michigan’s 12 offensive boards. The Wolverines scored 16 second-chance points.
While the Hoosiers didn’t capitalize on their opportunity to secure a ranked victory and end their losing skid, redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries provided Indiana with a reason to be optimistic about the team returning to form.
Entering the matchup, DeVries scored in the single digits in five of the Cream and Crimson’s last seven games. But in the final eight minutes Tuesday, he showcased the talent that earned him two Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year awards.
DeVries was held scoreless in the first half, but scored 15 points over a seven-minute stretch late in the game. After scoring his first points of the game, DeVries shot 5 for 6, including making four 3-pointers.
“It was good to see some of those go down in a game and hopefully take the lid off of it for him,” Darian DeVries said.
Getting more production out of Tucker DeVries would greatly aid a struggling Indiana offense that is averaging only 66.5 points per game over the past four contests.
Indiana’s next opportunity to snap its losing streak comes against a weaker opponent in Rutgers (9-10, 2-6 Big Ten). The Hoosiers will take on the Scarlet Knights at 6 p.m. Friday inside Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
