Indiana Hoosiers, Yogi Ferrell upset No. 10 Michigan
By Evan Reller
Feb 2, 2014; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell (11) drives to the basket against Michigan Wolverines guard Derrick Walton Jr. (10) at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Yogi Ferrell put on a show Sunday afternoon. With the Indiana Hoosiers up against a wall this season, Ferrell delivered his biggest game of the year to give IU a much needed win.
Ferrell had 27 points in the Hoosiers 63-52 win over No. 10 Michigan. IU handed the Wolverines their first Big Ten loss of the season.
When we say that Ferrell carried Indiana today, its not hyperbole. He was 8-of-10 from the field and more importantly, 7-of-8 from the three point line. Noah Vonleh was the only other Hoosier in double digits.
Vonleh recorded another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. He needed every minute of play to get those numbers too. Vonleh came up huge in the final two with some truly exceptional effort plays.
He put the nail in the coffin of a Michigan comeback. It started with a blocked shot (or was it a steal) on what was clearly a desperation attempt that would have been an airball.
He then had a putback dunk off a Ferrell missed free throw. On the next possession he scored the final basket after a missed layup to make it an 11-point margin. He played hard at the end and simply made sure that the Wolverines couldn’t make it interesting down the stretch.
Ferrell didn’t just get it done on the offensive end of the court either. He was tasked with shadowing Michigan’s leading scorer, Nik Stauskas, for most of the game. He was held to just six points off 1-for-6 shooting and turned the ball over three times.
Evan Gordon came off the bench to give the Hoosiers some very solid minutes. He had eight points off 4-for-6 shooting and was able to make other plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
IU led by three at halftime, but didn’t coast coming out of the break. The Hoosiers kept pressing and were able to maintain a six point lead for the majority of the second half.
Michigan never got into a rhythm on offense Sunday. The Wolverines shot 40-percent from the field and were just 3-of-13 from the three point line. The Hoosiers also outrebounded them by nine.
IU improves to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. This was a must win for an IU team that seems to bounce between disappointing losses to inferior teams and tough victories. This was easily one of the better offensive performances (against a quality opponent) from the Hoosiers this season. IU shot 53-percent from the field and only turned the ball over 13 times (which is good for them).
This was also the second time the Hoosiers defeated a ranked Big Ten team this year, having knocked off then-No. 3 Wisconsin a few weeks ago (and no, the fans didn’t rush the court Sunday).
Up next for the Hoosiers is a tough road test to Minnesota.
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