Michigan Basketball looks like No. 1 team in win over Indiana

Michigan basketball won its fourth game over a ranked team this season by double digits after beating Indiana 74-63. The Wolverines are now 15-0.

The Michigan basketball team has been a little sluggish in recent weeks but against Indiana Sunday, the Wolverines looked like the team with three other dominating wins over ranked teams.

Earlier this season, Michigan basketball beat Villanova, North Carolina and Purdue — all ranked teams — all by double digits. And Sunday, at the Crisler Center, the Wolverines did it again, leading from start to finish against Indiana in a 74-63 win.

In the first half, things were close and the score was 11-9 in favor of UM. Then, Michigan basketball went on a 12-0 run that included a 3-pointer from Jordan Poole. After this steal and slam dunk by Charles Matthews, the Wolverines led 23-9.

The Wolverines kept pouring it on and when Matthews knocked down a shot from beyond the arc, Michigan led 30-13. Indiana rallied a little before the end of the half, but a Jon Teske dunk helped Michigan maintain a 44-29 edge at the break.

Early in the second half, Zavier Simpson pushed the lead to 16 points with one of his patented scoop shots. He knocked down a few of those in the game as he continues to get better and better on the retro hook shot.

Indiana trimmed the lead to seven points at one point, but that is as close as the 21st-ranked Hoosiers would get to No. 2 Michigan. Freshman Brandon Johns had a couple of key dunks and late in the game, Poole drilled a jumper to put Michigan up 68-54. That was essentially the dagger.

Indiana wasn’t terrible offensively, however, they shot just 42.6 percent from the field as opposed to 50 percent for the Wolverines. Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan scored 42 points combined, yet they were just 14-of-33 from the field.

Michigan also had just three turnovers while the Hoosiers had seven. Strangely enough, UM only knocked down four triples but it still won thanks to massive efforts from Matthews and Poole, who each scored 18 points. Matthews also had six rebounds, four steals and two assists, while Poole added five rebounds and two assists.

Simpson added 12 points and three assists, while Ignas Brazdeikis finished with 10. Johns also added eight points and eight rebounds off the bench in place of Isaiah Livers.

Michigan, which is now 15-0 should definitely get more consideration for the No. 1 ranking. Last week, Duke led with 35 first-place votes. Michigan had nine and Tennessee 12. Maybe some of those votes will start to change but all I know is that the Wolverines are playing as well as any team in the country.

In four wins over top-25 teams, Michigan basketball has won by an average of 18.25 points and the 11-point win over the Hoosiers was actually it closest win over a ranked opponent. And while it was somewhat competitive in the second half, Michigan never trailed and the outcome was never in doubt.

The rankings don’t really matter but Duke does have a loss and Michigan doesn’t. And at this point, with four signature wins, the Wolverines deserve to be the No. 1 team in the country.