Key takeaways from the Indiana basketball 70-67 loss to Michigan

Indiana basketball fell behind early and was unable to recover as it fell to Michigan, 70-67, on Saturday afternoon.

That is the fifth straight loss for the Hoosiers and seventh in the last eight games.

Here are the key takeaways from IU’s loss.

Lost the game in the first half: Time and time again this Indiana basketball team has been slow out of the gates and once again that was the case on Saturday. And once again, it was the cause for the loss. Indiana quickly fell behind double-digits and then saw an 18-point deficit right before the half. Like the Wisconsin game, it’s nearly impossible to spot a team 20 points at any point in the game and find a way to come back. Indiana jumped out to a 17-8 run and eventual 23-10 run out of halftime  to cut the lead to one and eventually tie up the game, but was never able to gain the lead. Legs started to get heavy, mental mistakes peaked back out and Michigan just started to take advantage of the missed opportunities that mounted for IU. It was an all-too-familiar story for Indiana.

Going through the motions with lethargic first half: It was another embarrassing first half for the Hoosiers, something that is all too common for the Hoosiers. Whether it was Illinois or Wisconsin or now Michigan, Indiana continues to roll out of the gates with little to no energy and very little emotion. While this team is obviously going through a lot with the news about their head coach, the lifeless performance in the first 20 minutes should have had people asking the question; why let Woodson finish out the year? Despite a strong second half, it doesn’t take away from the lack of pride IU again put on the floor in the first half. They were going through the motions, looking like a team that had given up on the season. It was 16-5 at the 14:36 mark, 32-19 at then eventually 43-27 at the half.

Malik Reneau looks close to old form: While it was in a loss, Malik Reneau looked as close as he’s been to his old self following the knee injury. Reneau had 16 points on Saturday and was 7-of-14 from the floor in 30 minutes. He had four of his past five games below 10 points and played less than 20 minutes in four of the five games. He clearly was still a bit rusty but he showed some toughness and will throughout the second half to help mount the large comeback. Most of his success came as the only big on the floor where he had more room to maneuver in the paint.

Substitution patterns … for the better: Mike Woodson has been criticized, and rightfully so, for his substitution patterns and almost robotic nature of his subs throughout his tenure. But that wasn’t the case on Saturday. After an abysmal first half performance with little energy and fight, the second half rotation was short and very much limited to a tight six man rotation. That included Trey Galloway getting the start after halftime for Myles Rice — who didn’t see the floor after halftime. Oumar Ballo, who has been a consistent fixture for this team, was benched just two minutes into the half for the majority of the second before returning around the five minute mark. Only five players played double-digit minutes in the second half.

Anthony Leal’s defense changed the game: The moment that changed the game for Indiana was when Anthony Leal was tasked with guarding Danny Wolf. Mike Woodson went with his toughest and smartest defender to try to slow down Michigan’s attack and was able to do just that. Despite giving up a ton of size and length on the 7-footer, Leal limited everything Wolf was trying to do. Michigan’s offense revolves around Wolf’s playmaking ability and numerous possessions, it either ended in a turnover or forced shot at the end of the shot clock because of the Wolverines inability to get into their sets through Wolf. Woodson also threw in zone defense that forced Michigan out of its rhythm and was part of the reason the Wolverines missed 13 straight 3s.

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