Michigan basketball got the coach Indiana needed. Dusty May returns to Bloomington for Saturday’s bout:
It is not exactly wrong to claim the Michigan Wolverines keep winning ugly, but this characterization misrepresents the average 40-minute rollercoaster. For large stretches, Dusty May has his team playing beautiful basketball, showing impressive chemistry given the newness of this roster. For others…yea, it gets ugly. Turnovers, consistent blown leads, and an overall lack of killer instinct have led to many frustrating evenings, though most of them still end in wins.
For the Indiana Hoosiers , ugly is completely fair. To the surprise of absolutely no one, preseason hype proved to be completely unwarranted, and now Mike Woodson is on the way out. Should they have made that decision last season and brought home May? Looks like it! Instead, Indiana drifts farther from the sport’s elite while Michigan keeps on winning.
No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (17-5, 9-2) at Indiana Hoosiers (14-9, 5-7)
Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 8, 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN
TV/Streaming: CBS
Indiana placed second in the Big Ten preseason poll — with some first-place votes! — but now seems unlikely to finish in the top half of the conference. Aside from an overtime win over Ohio State, the Hoosiers have lost six of seven and are outside the KenPom top 50 in offense, defense, and overall rating. It was not long ago that Indiana started 4-1 in conference play, but a lack of marquee non-conference wins pointed to this likely collapse.
Michigan had owned the Hoosiers for much of the prior decade, but the tables have turned over the past couple seasons. Indiana has won four straight head-to-head, starting with the 2022 Big Ten Tournament collapse and including a sweep by ranked squads in 2022-23. Even at Assembly Hall, though, this is a good chance for the Wolverines to end this skid.
One Big Question: Does Dusty feel the moment?
The biggest storyline from his hiring was May’s ties to Indiana. As a student manager and Bob Knight pupil, there is no way the Wolverines head coach does not feel something on Saturday, especially in an environment like this. Thankfully, May seems about as level-headed as a coach could be (especially in a conference full of…quite emotional figures), but we have yet to see him in a situation like this.
How that might actually translate to his players is hard to say, but the obvious angle is turnovers if his squad is a little too hyped up. Even though Indiana is not great at forcing steals, it does not really seem to matter for Michigan. Giving home underdogs free possessions, or even extending them with poor defensive rebounding, is one thing the Wolverines cannot do, and that is a risk if the energy level is elevated.
One Thing to Watch: Wolf resurgence
Make that two solid outings from Danny Wolf in a row with double-digit points and low turnovers. I have been critical of his regression after a hot start, but getting him hot heading into the final month could be a game-changer. Wolf should continue to feast against Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo, and he and Vlad Goldin have the clear advantage in this one.
While sloppy giveaways are always the fear with Wolf — and really the entire squad — Michigan does want to control the pace and attack Indiana quickly. The Hoosiers are bottom-five in opposing eFG in Big Ten play and have given up at least 1.15 PPP in each of their past four games (all losses). If Wolf is cooking, the Wolverines are cooking, and this looks like a defeated defense that can really be blitzed.