Michigan-Indiana game should be real treat for fans
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
You don’t need anyone to tell you that tonight’s matchup between No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Indiana should be every college basketball fans’ dream matchup.
After all, it’s being dubbed the “Game of the Year” and for good reason.
The Wolverines and Hoosiers are a combined 39-3, are in a first-place tie in the Big Ten, could potentially both be No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and have six soon-to-be NBA players on their rosters.
Arguably there’s more hype surrounding this game than any other regular-season affair in IU history and as you know that’s saying a lot.
ESPN’s College GameDay has converged on the Bloomington campus as the sellout crowd of 17,472 in Assembly Hall will be at a feverish pitch from the moment the ball goes up until the game’s conclusion.
To be one of the fortunate ones to see the game in-person, you better be prepared to pay. Balcony tickets are going for about $250 per ticket on StubHub.com. If you want a prime seat in the lower level, you’ll shell out $900 for each ticket.
Even the radio announcers are honored to be privileged to be calling this game.
“It’s going to be just awesome to watch the skill on the floor,” Michigan radio play-by-play man Matt Shepard said.
That skill will include IU’s Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo. There’s a strong likelihood that all three are calling the NBA home next season.
Michigan is loaded with talent, too. Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III could also be residing in the NBA next season.
In addition to those six, you have an IU backcourt that features deadly outside shooter Jordan Hulls, super competitor Will Sheehey, who is one of the most improved players the Big Ten has to offer, and ultra-talented freshman point guard Yogi Ferrell.
Other than Robinson, Michigan has some awfully impressive young studs. Mitch McGary is a beast inside and and 6-foot-6 guard Nik Stauskas is a nightmare matchup for any team.
As well as the abundance of talent on the floor being a prime attraction, the way these two teams play the game will be very appealing to spectators. They love to get up and down the floor and there should be plenty of offense.
Michigan is averaging 78 points per game (13th in the nation) and shoots at a 51 percent clip (third). By comparison, IU leads the nation in scoring, pouring in 84 points per game, and shooting 50 percent from the floor (fifth).
A big reason why the Wolverines have lost just once this season – 56-53 at Ohio State – is because they don’t turn the ball over and they don’t foul. Michigan is second in the country, averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game, and No. 1 in fouls per game (11.8).
This game really has it all. It has a pair of players in the running for national player of the year in Zeller and Burke as well as Ferrell, who is in the conversation for freshman of the year, and Robinson, who has a case for Big Ten freshman of the year accolades.
As for picking a winner, you have to like Indiana because it is so difficult to beat them in Assembly Hall although Wisconsin managed earlier this season.
Michigan knows if it can escape Bloomington with a W, it can really make things difficult on the Hoosiers, who can’t afford to lose their second Big Ten home game of the year.
The Wolverines do know, too, that they have a tough schedule ahead with Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State their next three opponents.
The Hoosiers’ remaining schedule isn’t a walk in the park either, especially when you consider they conclude with Ohio State and Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Regardless of who comes out on top tonight, you can expect these two teams to remain near or at the top of the polls the rest of the way, and don’t be surprised if both are playing in Atlanta in the Final Four.
