Wolverines Eat Up No. 13 Indiana

Michigan doesn't have a wide body like Robert Traylor anymore. Still, the Wolverines found enough gritty post play to stun Indiana again.

Louis Bullock scored 20 points, but Josh Asselin had 16 points and 10 rebounds -- his first double-double -- as Michigan held off the 13th-ranked Hoosiers for an 82-70 victory Tuesday night.

"If we step up and play aggressive in the front court, we can play with anybody," said Asselin, who fouled out with 1:53 remaining. "I was going to do whatever I had to do to help us win."

With the 300-pound Traylor waiting for the NBA lockout to end, the Wolverines (8-8, 2-1 Big Ten) rotate Asselin, Peter Vignier and Brandon Smith down low in their three-guard offense.

Smith chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. Vignier, the biggest Michigan player at 6-foot-11 and 255 pounds, added nine points and a blocked shot.

It proved to be enough.

"With our big guys scoring in the post, it opened things up for us," said Robbie Reid, who scored 12 of his 15 points on 3-pointers. "When Lou gets hot, being as great a player as he is, he can put up some great numbers."

Indiana

Robbie Reid (right) and Michigan kept the heat on Indiana Tuesday night. (AP)

It looked like Michigan would blow out the Hoosiers at home for the second consecutive time, after beating Indiana 112-64 last year -- coach Bob Knight's second-worst loss at Indiana.

"We knew that after last year, when we beat them by 48, they wanted to come in and run us off the court," Asselin said.

The Hoosiers almost did, too.

Luke Recker, who had 28 points for the Hoosiers, sparked a 17-4 burst and closed the gap to 71-68 with a 3-point basket with 4:33 remaining.

"We got back in the game at 67-63, then they regrouped and played well from that point on," Knight said. "They never let us get in position to take control."

Indiana, which came back from 18 points down at halftime to win in Ann Arbor two years ago, never scored again after a short jumper by Michael Lewis with 3:15 left to play.

"Did we get shots? Did we get opportunities? We did," Knight said. "And that's what we have to be concerned about."

Indiana shot just 30.3 percent (10-of-33) in the second half and 40 percent for the game. Sometimes, when the shots aren't falling, the Hoosiers can pull a game out with free throws, but this time they hit just 12-of-21.

Still, that didn't bother the fiery Knight as much as a pair of fouls late in the first half. On one, A.J. Guyton fouled Bullock, turning a 3-pointer into a four-point play. On the other, Recker fouled Leon Jones on a shot from the corner and Jones sank all three free throws.

That cut the Hoosiers' eight-point lead to 41-38 at halftime.

"The end of the first half just killed us," Knight said. "We gave seven points away and that just buried us."

Michigan, hitting 10-of-22 from 3-point range, shot 47.4 percent, including 13-of-27 in the second half. The Wolverines, who raised their 1998 Big Ten tournament championship banner to the rafters of Crisler Arena before the game, hit 18-of-27 free throws.

Bullock keyed the second-half rally for Michigan with three consecutive 3-pointers.

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