College Basketball

Michigan Basketball Uses Familiar Formula To Beat Indiana

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:21 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tyler Fenwick/FanSided via GBMWolverine

Michigan basketball went into Sunday’s game at Indiana without a road win, but the Wolverines used their typical formula to clear that hurdle.

Derrick Walton Jr. leading Michigan basketball to a win: check. Michigan creating a lot of turnovers while protecting the ball: check. Getting it going from behind the arc: check.

And with that, you could say the Wolverines got their first road win of the season against Indiana in pretty typical fashion. All the way down to Zak Irvin having an underwhelming performance.

One of the biggest criticisms of Michigan lately has been that it doesn’t have a road win. Getting that first one in Bloomington (no matter how far off the Hoosiers have fallen this season) is no small accomplishment, and now the Wolverines have that weight off their shoulders.

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What’s more, Michigan’s remaining schedule is a tough one, and this game against Indiana represented one of the few opportunities left to play at or below the Wolverines’ level.

Walton was spectacular again against Indiana. He finished with a game-high 25 points, adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. The last of his steals came with just under a minute to play, and his wide open layup pretty much sealed the deal for Michigan.

Moritz Wagner recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He did that after being bullied by the rim early by Thomas Bryant. He was replaced by Mark Donnal, got a talking to by John Beilein, and that apparently did the job.

There’s no doubt Indiana is a team that’s falling apart right now, and it would take a miraculous finish to the season to get into the NCAA tournament, but it was still Bloomington. This win also means the Wolverines backed up their 30-point slaughter of the Hoosiers not that long ago.

Michigan’s attention now turns to Wisconsin, a team that the Wolverines played with for the most part on the road last month. That game is on Thursday.