BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The first time Michigan crossed paths with Indiana, it resulted in a gut-wrenching loss.
The second encounter ended with a similar outcome: another punch to the gut and another missed opportunity.
The Wolverines rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit, squandered a 12-point second-half lead and closed the regular season with a devastating 75-73 overtime loss against the No. 15 Hoosiers on Sunday at Assembly Hall.
Junior center Hunter Dickinson had 24 points and 14 rebounds, sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 19, freshman wing Jett Howard had 16 points and freshman guard Dug McDaniel added 10 points for Michigan (17-14, 11-9 Big Ten), which shot 1-for-6 from the field in overtime.
With the loss, Michigan will be either the No. 5 or No. 8 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will open play Thursday in the second round at Chicago’s United Center depending on the result of the Rutgers-Northwestern game. If Rutgers wins, Michigan will be the No. 5 seed. If Northwestern wins, Michigan will be the No. 8 seed.
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 27, Race Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 13 for Indiana (21-10, 11-9), which shot 45.2% from the field (28-for-62) and denied Michigan a chance to grab a double-bye in the conference tournament.
After Dickinson missed a contested 3-pointer late in regulation and Jackson-Davis’ halfcourt heave bounced off the rim, Michigan found itself in overtime for the third straight game.
But it was all Indiana in the extra session as the Hoosiers scored the first six points and never looked back. After Jackson-Davis blocked a layup attempt by McDaniel at the rim, Miller Kopp nailed a deep jumper to make it 75-69 with 2:21 to play.
Dickinson kept Michigan in it with a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game, 75-72, at the 1:58 mark. After coming up empty on their next possession, the Wolverines got a stop on defense and gave themselves a chance to tie it.
Dickinson turned the ball over in the paint with 14 seconds left. Two missed free throws by Thompson kept the door open for Michigan, but Indiana opted to foul up three and sent McDaniel to the free-throw line. He made the first and missed the second, making it both to make it 75-73 with six seconds left.
Thompson, once again, missed both free throws and gave Michigan life. But the Wolverines couldn’t get a shot off in the final seconds as Bufkin had the ball stripped away.
After making its final six shots and scoring the final 10 points of the first half, Michigan picked up from where it left off out of the break. Bufkin connected on a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer. Howard drained a pair of deep balls. The Wolverines made their first four shots in the second half and pulled ahead, 38-34.
The hot shooting spearheaded a 15-5 run out of halftime. Sophomore forward Will Tschetter pulled down an offensive rebound that led to two free throws. An Indiana turnover led to a fast-break opportunity and open dunk for Dickinson. A string of seven unanswered points put Michigan up, 42-34, at the 16:37 mark.
Indiana cut the deficit to four before Michigan kept things rolling on offense and used another quick burst to widen the gap. Dickinson scored inside. Howard splashed a step-back 3-pointer. Bufkin drew a foul on a baseline drive and made two free throws. McDaniel made a deep ball. Michigan’s lead swelled to 52-40 with 13:42 remaining.
Each time the Hoosiers tried to get close, the Wolverines wouldn’t let them. When Indiana cut it to seven, Bufkin responded with a jumper. When Indiana cut it to seven again, McDaniel answered with a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game with 10:02 left.
Indiana kept pushing and put the pressure on as Michigan’s offense cooled. After Thompson capped an 8-0 flurry with a three-point play to make it 60-59, Dickinson countered with a three-point play. Then after Tamar Bates drained a 3-pointer to cut it to 63-62, freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. scored on an offensive putback to make it a three-point game with 4:32 to play.
That paved the way for a tense finish. Michigan missed the front end of a one-and-one and committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions. Jackson-Davis scored on a back-to-back buckets at the rim. Indiana took a 66-65 lead at the 2:49 mark.
Michigan used two free throws from Bufkin and a hook from Dickinson to go back in front, 69-66. Hood-Schifino tied it with a pull-up 3-pointer with 59 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Dickinson was stripped and turned the ball over in the paint, leading to a missed fast-break layup by Thompson. Michigan got the ball back, called a timeout with 13 seconds left and had another shot to win it. But Dickinson’s contested 3-pointer didn’t fall, Jackson-Davis’ halfcourt heave rimed out and the teams went to overtime.
