BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There they all stood, each in a separate corner of the corridor immediately outside the visitor locker room, fielding questions deep within Assembly Hall.
The 7-footer duo of Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, plus point guard Tre Donaldson, had their best game together as a trio and provided just enough boost to help No. 22 Michigan basketball (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten) pick up its fourth consecutive win and escape with yet another nail-biting finish, 70-67, over Indiana.
At some point — probably sooner than later — U-M will need better production from its role players. But until then, the Wolverines are mighty happy to have their trio who’ve become their big three.
“Yeah, they made plays,” head coach Dusty May said moments after he finished leading his team to victory against his alma mater. “I’m sitting here today feeling really, really great about our performance because those guys made big, big plays down the stretch.”
Wolf scored U-M’s last seven points, including a scooping layup for a three-point play from the middle of the lane, and then four more free throws in the final 85 seconds to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Donaldson, meanwhile, scored eight of the first nine points and had 14 of his 18 points in the first half to help U-M build an early 18-point lead.
Though the lead evaporated, Goldin did his part to hold the line. It was his lefty hook that ended an 8-0 IU run in the middle of the second half. Soon after, he hit a pair of free throws which stopped Indiana’s 12-2 run after they’d cut a 17-point lead to one.
THE GAME: Michigan basketball survives second-half collapse to beat Indiana, 70-67, keep up with MSU
Goldin finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, with he, Wolf and Donaldson combining to score 25 of U-M’s 27 points after the break and 80% of the team’s total points (56 of 70) on the afternoon.
“Continue to play through each other,” Donaldson said of the key in all three having big games simultaneously. “Obviously, us being the big three, we got to continue to do what we do. Got to continue to make big shots down the stretch, continue to guard, but our role players can’t get overlooked.”
Role players chipping in
There is much more to basketball than simply scoring, and U-M’s role players have bought into that concept.
Rubin Jones, making his first start since the season opener in place of Roddy Gayle Jr., hit just one shot but it was a 3-pointer at the top of the key to end an 11-0 Indiana run in the first half to give Michigan the lead back. He also grabbed a big rebound after IU had gone on a 20-4 run in the second half, then came up with a steal a minute later when U-M used a 6-0 spurt to turn a one-point lead into a 59-52 game.
Will Tschetter, the team’s leader, played just four minutes but hit both of his free throw tries and grabbed a big offensive rebound.
Walters, meanwhile, scored just two points but they were big: A slashing drive in which he hit the layup despite a foul to put U-M up, 53-47, the only points by someone outside the big three in the second half.
“We’re still trying to figure out our offensive flow and rhythm,” May acknowledged. “I do think we took a step forward — I thought we had pretty sound role definition for the most part.”
“A team that just has belief”
Perhaps the most positive aspect of U-M’s win is how many things didn’t go well.
Michigan allowed runs of 11-0, 8-0 and 13-2. As a team, it missed its final 13 attempts beyond the arc, and the team had nearly three times as many turnovers (eight) as assists (assists) in the final 20 minutes, once IU switched to a zone that stifled U-M’s ability to keep the ball swinging around.
Even still, despite attempting six fewer shots and getting doubled up in bench points (16-8), U-M never trailed.
“I thought our guys played with great physicality and determination to rebound the ball,” May said, pointing out IU normally gets offensive rebounds on 33% of its misses, yet U-M held it to just 22% in that category. “To go 0-for-9 from 3 in the second half is a testament of a team that just has belief that they’re going to figure it out.”
The Wolverines seem to have at least figured out how to win close.
After losing four times by four points or fewer in its first 17 games, U-M has now won its past four games by four points or less each (though U-M led IU by six in the final seconds before an Anthony Leal 60-foot heave fell through as time expired).
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The lone exception was when Michigan was blown out on the road at Big Ten leading Purdue. And here come the No. 7 Boilermakers, arriving in Ann Arbor in a likely top-20 showdown.
A win for U-M and it leaves the night, at worst ,tied for first place in the Big Ten. A loss, though, not only would give Purdue a 1½-game lead, but also the tiebreaker (thanks to its a season sweep), so it would effectively be more like 2½ games in terms of Big Ten tourney seeding.
Michigan made sure it had its sights set on the Hoosiers. Now, behind the big three, it’s time for some revenge.
Donaldson, who had his worst game of the season in West Lafayette with 11 points, six turnovers and one assist, had “no comment” when asked about his mentality heading into the rematch.
Wolf, though, had more to say.
“Obviously everyone knows how that game went,” Wolf said, referencing Purdue’s 27-point win over U-M last month. “They got on us early and we’re lucky we get to play them twice this year. … We’re really excited for this opportunity to get this game back and kind of solidify where we are in the standings.”
Next up: Boilermakers
Matchup: No. 22 Michigan (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 7 Purdue (17-5, 11-2).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: Peacock (online only, no broadcast); WWJ-AM (950).
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball’s big three has officially arrived to grand stage
