Indiana won the second half against Michigan 40-27.
Most of the time -- in fact nearly all of the time -- that would result in a win, especially in what was supposed to be a hard-fought, close game.
Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, its second half surge wasn't enough, as the 16 point halftime deficit was too large to overcome, the Wolverines securing the 70-67 win because of the breathing room it afforded in the first half.
Indiana was more physical, more energetic and more connected on both offense and defense in the second half, leading to the furious comeback, though it was one that came up short.
Indiana tied it at 59 with less than four minutes remaining, sending the Assembly Hall crowd into a frenzy, though the buildup was just as entertaining for the Hoosier fans in the building.
Indiana was down by as many as 17 in the second half, the score being 49-32 with 17 minutes left in the game. After this, though, IU played its best basketball of the entire game.
"I thought defensively we made a nice adjustment the second half" Mike Woodson said postgame. When IU was making its comeback, it all started on the defensive end, as the solid defense led to better offense, cumulating in momentum being swung in the Hoosiers' favor.
With momentum from the crowd on its side, Indiana made its run, turning a 17 point lead into a tie game in less than 13 minutes of gametime.
While it was a valiant effort, Indiana ran out of gas after it tied it up, allowing Michigan to clinch the victory.
While Indiana played sound basketball for the final 17 minutes of the game, where was this kind of effort in the first 23 minutes? This kind of inconsistency has been a theme all season long, and it was no different against a Dusty May led Michigan team.
In the first half, the Hoosiers shot just 35% from the floor and 25% from three, while getting out-rebounded 20-15. All these stats led to a less than impressive start to the game from IU, one that wasn't as egregious as the one at Wisconsin, but the theme of starting off slow continued.
Michigan led by as many as 18 in the first half and took a 16 point advantage into the break, resulting in boos raining down from the crowd, something that has become commonplace for this season's Indiana team.
"We just couldn't make shots the first half" Woodson said, adding "I thought they had their way from an offensive standpoint because our defense wasn't there."
The Hoosiers' defense was indeed non-existent, as Danny Wolf, Vlad Goldin and Tre Donaldson all had their way in the first 20 minutes, both with and without the basketball.
All this represented the lows of Indiana's inconsistency, a quality that has been seen game in and game out, but it may have been at its worst today against the Wolverines.
"We've been up and down individually and as a team" Woodson said, mentioning this inconsistency, but recognizing it is less than half the battle.
For an IU team that is as talented as any in the Big Ten, this up-and-down nature has been one of, if not the main reason it has failed to find sustained, if any success.
The Hoosiers did find a groove between the end of December and start of January, though the momentum has come to a screeching halt in recent weeks, this lost marking Indiana's seventh in the last eight games.
"We haven't been the same team for a while. And for whatever reason we've dug a hole" Woodson said, putting blame on himself when he added "I've done a terrible job in really putting them in the best position possible to win, I think."
With just seven games left in the regular season, Indiana is certainly in an interesting spot.
After the announcement made yesterday that confirmed Woodson's retirement at season's end, some may have thought that Indiana would've come out loose and energized.
This couldn't have been further from the truth though, as the Hoosiers came out flat and, in the end, showed the same kind of inconsistency that has followed this team in the majority of its 24 games up to this point.
Whether or not this is an NCAA Tournament team, the game against Michigan can be seen as a microcosm of this season for Indiana: slow to start, get's hot for a stretch, but then doesn't make the clutch play when it matters most.
Against the Wolverines, the Hoosiers played great in the moments that led up to the 59-59 tie, but you simply can't expect to win a game where you were down by as many as 18.
"Well, you've got to tip your hat and give them a lot of credit -- I do -- because they could have folded it up and called it a night. But they fought the second half" Woodson said, but the fact remains that Indiana's first half doomed it from the start.
The Hoosiers fought hard in the second half, that's clear, but if Indiana wanted to defeat Michigan it had to start out on the right foot, yet it wasn't even close.
This game could've turned Indiana's season in the right direction after a program-altering announcement the day prior, but the inconsistency IU played with made it seem like it was just another day for this Mike Woodson coached team.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
