The No.1-seeded Indiana Hoosiers (25-6) and Michigan Wolverines (21-11) meet in the third round of the Big 10 tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Action begins at 12:00 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 11 and can be seen on ESP and ES3.
The Hoosiers come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, blowing out Maryland 80-62 in their last matchup. Troy Williams was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting. The Wolverines, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-70 win against Northwestern in the 2. Duncan Robinson was the team’s top scorer, accounting for 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Expect this one to be a clinic on boxing out, as two of the nation’s top rebounding teams face off. Indiana is among the nation’s best on the offensive glass, ranking seventh in OR% at 37.3%. Meanwhile, Michigan ranks 13th in the nation at corralling defensive boards with a DR% of 74.2%. Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Wolverines. They are 338th in the nation in FTA rate (28.7), while the Hoosiers are among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 29.3, ranking 21st in the country).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Hoosiers winning the first matchup 80-67. Yogi Ferrell had a stellar game with 17 points, two rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and three three-pointers.
Notes
Indiana won its last game by an 18-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Michigan is 8-1. Indiana is 13-2 in blowouts this season.
The Indiana Hoosiers have the second-best offensive rating in the nation (120.5). The Michigan Wolverines have a defensive rating of 102.4 (ranked 65th).
The Indiana Hoosiers average 68.6 possessions and 1.205 points per possession in games this season. The Michigan Wolverines average fewer possessions with 65.7, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.140.
The Indiana Hoosiers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking second in the country with an eFG% of 58.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher eFG%, the Michigan Wolverines have an abysmal 1-6 record.
The Indiana Hoosiers average 24.0 three point attempts per game, and the Michigan Wolverines attempt 25.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Indiana is 19-4 and Michigan is 18-10.
The Michigan Wolverines rank ninth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.52, while the Indiana Hoosiers rank outside the top 100 at 102nd with an A/TO of 1.18.
Michigan makes an average of 5.5 steals per game. Indiana has a superb 19-4 record when it allows at least 5 steals.
