Dusty May’s return to Assembly Hall resulted in a thrilling finish, as the Wolverines escaped with a 70-67 win on Saturday. Danny Wolf was phenomenal, posting a game-high 20 points to help secure a fourth straight win for Michigan:
Dusty May’s return to Assembly Hall resulted in a thrilling finish, as the Michigan Wolverines escaped with a 70-67 win on Saturday. Danny Wolf was phenomenal, posting a game-high 20 points to help the Wolverines secure a fourth straight win.
Michigan jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half — and led by as much as 18 points — before allowing Indiana to tie it in the final minutes. Wolf stepped up in crunch time as the Wolverines eventually survived.
Despite continuing to struggle hanging onto second-half leads, Michigan found a way to pick up a critical road win and improve to 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten. The win keeps the Wolverines in a tie for second place in the conference with Michigan State, which beat Oregon on Saturday.
In addition to Wolf leading the way, Tre Donaldson and Vlad Goldin were great as well. Donaldson finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Goldin racked up 18 points and eight rebounds.
FIRST HALF
Michigan caught fire in the opening minutes, connecting on five straight shots to go on a 11-0 run and take a 16-5 lead. Donaldson fueled the fast start by scoring eight points, including two three-pointers in the first four minutes.
Indiana immediately answered with an 11-0 spurt to tie the game before Rubin Jones drilled a three-pointer midway through the half. Jones made his second start of the season, replacing a struggling Roddy Gayle Jr.
The Wolverines regained momentum, putting together a 16-1 run to extend the lead to 35-19 with just under six minutes left in the half. Michigan eventually held a 43-27 lead at halftime after shooting 52 percent from the field.
In addition to a great shooting performance in the first half, the Wolverines avoided unforced errors by committing just four turnovers. Donaldson led the way with 14 points, while Goldin and Wolf combined for 19 points.
SECOND HALF
Donaldson continued to find success to start the second half, finishing a floater in the lane to extend the Wolverines’ double-digit lead. Just moments later, Goldin threw down a dunk from Wolf to give Michigan a 47-30 advantage.
It appeared the Wolverines might be able to pull away, but similar to several games this season, Michigan continued to struggle to hang onto a double-figure lead as Indiana stormed back with an 18-4 run.
Mackenzie Mgbako drilled a three-pointer in transition to get the Hoosiers within one score, cutting the deficit to 53-50 with 10:59 left. With just over four minutes left, Indiana completed the comeback by tying it at 59 apiece.
Indiana had a chance to take its first lead of the game but a missed shot, leading to Wolf finding Goldin for a go-ahead dunk with 3:05 remaining.
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— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 8, 2025
Wolf continued to come up clutch as well, finishing through contact for an and-one to go up 66-61 with just 1:25 left. Clinging to a 66-64 lead in the final seconds, Wolf knocked down two free throws to seal a fifth straight win.
UP NEXT
Michigan returns home for a matchup against the Big Ten-leading Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Peacock. A win over Purdue would vault the Wolverines into first place with eight games left in the regular season.
The Wolverines committed a season-high 22 turnovers in an embarrassing 91-64 loss at Purdue last month. Purdue stayed hot by moving to 19-5 and 11-2 in the Big Ten following a 90-72 win over the USC Trojans on Friday. The Boilermakers boast one of the nation’s most efficient offenses and are currently the highest-rated Big Ten program on KenPom.