Clock problems delayed the start of No. 5 Michigan's game at Indiana on Friday night by nearly 10 minutes.
No problem for the Wolverines.
Michigan held Indiana scoreless on its first 10 trips down the floor to open up a 17-0 lead less than six minutes into the game, en route to a 69-46 win.
Ignas Brazdeikis led the Wolverines with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and seven rebounds. Charles Matthews added 10 points, 11 rebounds and solid defense on Indiana standout freshman guard Romeo Langford.
The Wolverines took advantage of the Hoosiers' early drought, attacking the basket, hitting open shots and scoring off turnovers.
The offense struggled at times, but the defense remained steady throughout, and the opening margin proved too difficult for Indiana to overcome.
This had all the makings of a trap for Michigan _ a road game in a hostile environment against a seemingly desperate team.
But the Wolverines entered Assembly Hall with plenty of confidence and poise.
Michigan's opening possession after the long delay was calm and patient even as the shot clock ticked down. The result: an open 3 for Brazdeikis.
That set the tone going forward.
Meanwhile, the Hoosiers constantly left open shooters with lackluster ball-screen defense and allowed easy drives with minimal help defense.
One team was ready to play. The other was not.
The Hoosiers scored on their first four possessions. Then they cut Michigan's lead to single digits when Rob Phinisee hit a 3 with 16:47 left.
Brazdeikis, though, had a response. He scored six of Michigan's first eight points of the second half, hitting two 3s. He was happy to play the role of villain at Assembly Hall, celebrating after each made 3 while fans jeered.
At one point, Brazdeikis had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while the rest of his team had 23 points on 8-for-24 shooting.
Matthews picked up the slack on offense shortly after.
He hit a pair of free throws, a 3-pointer and a long 2 on three consecutive possessions. That stretched the lead back to 16. The defense, meanwhile, held Indiana to five points over a 6:13 stretch after Phinisee's 3.
Michigan's offense never reached the heights it did in the first few minutes. But the Wolverines hit enough timely 3s in the second half to hold off Indiana.
While Michigan's offense ran hot and cold, the defense was solid throughout.
Matthews stifled Langford, allowing only one basket while guarding the freshman.
Langford, who entered the game averaging 17.6 points on 48.5 percent shooting, finished with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting and didn't score in the first half.
Juwan Morgan (16 points) was the only Hoosier to score in double digits.
If there's one thing we've learned by now, it's that this team can always count on its defense. Michigan has two lockdown individual defenders in Simpson and Matthews and one of the top defensive centers in the nation in Jon Teske.
There are hardly any easy baskets against the Wolverines, and that can sustain the team when the offense goes through stretches of uneven play.
