Wolverines Withstand No. 20 Indiana Late to Stay Perfect at Crisler

The University of Michigan men's basketball team (No. 23 AP/No. 22 ESPN/USA Today) improved to 13-0 at home this season, defeating Indiana (No. 20 AP/No. 20 ESPN/USA Today), 68-56, on Wednesday night (Feb. 1) inside Crisler Center.

Michigan scored 27 of the game's first 35 points, before Indiana got to as close as two (52-50, 3:20) in the second half, but the Wolverines pulled away behind two straight three-pointers -- from sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) and senior guard Stu Douglass (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) -- and 10 free throws in the final three minutes.

Freshman guard Trey Burke (Columbus, Ohio/Northland HS) led Michigan with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Zack Novak (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) and Hardaway tallied 13 points apiece, while Douglass added nine points and four assists.

Never yielding its lead to Indiana, U-M shot 48 percent (22-of-46) over the course of the game to claim its 13th home win this season.

The Wolverines came out hot to start the game, hitting 5-of-6 shots, including three from behind the arc, to storm out to an early 13-0 lead only 4:21 into the contest. Burke led the surge, sinking all three of his attempts for eight points over the stretch. The Maize and Blue stretched its lead out to 20 on a free throw with 7:12 left in the half. IU battled back, putting together a 9-0 run of its own with only three minutes to go, but Michigan took a 33-22 lead into the locker room after shooting 52 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes.

IU turned the ball over eight times in the first half, leading to 11 Michigan points, while the Wolverines surrendered only one turnover for one second-chance point.

The Hoosiers began the scoring in the second half on their way to cutting the Michigan lead down to two points with 12:53 left, on the heels of a 12-2 run. However, the Wolverines responded on a Novak three-point basket as the shot clock expired, fueling a 9-2 Wolverine run. Indiana brought the game back within two points with a little more than three minutes to go, but the next time down the court, Hardaway knocked down a three-pointer to help sustain the Michigan lead. Douglass added a three-pointer of his own on the subsequent possession to extend the Wolverines' lead to 58-50 with 1:40 to go, proving to be enough to hold off the surging IU squad.

The Wolverines will look to sweep in-state rival Michigan State when they travel to East Lansing on Sunday (Feb. 5). Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on the CBS.