
Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s second-round matchup in the Big Ten tournament.
Entering Tuesday, March 8, as the second team left out of the projected NCAA men’s basketball tournament field in the Bracket Matrix projections, the Big Ten’s No. 9 seed Indiana (18-12, 9-11 Big Ten) will face No. 8 seed Michigan (17-13, 11-9 Big Ten) in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Hoosiers will need to win at least one game, and likely two, in the Big Ten tournament to have a strong case for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Here’s everything you need to know about their second-round matchup.
Michigan vs. Indiana: Date, tip time, TV channel
The first of four second-round matchups in the Big Ten tournament will tip off between No. 8 seed Michigan and No. 9 seed Indiana at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The broadcast will air on BTN.
Michigan, a consensus No. 11 seed according to Bracket Matrix’s projected field, is in a similar, but more optimistic, situation as Indiana when it comes to the NCAA tournament bubble.
Series history
In the two schools’ only meeting this season, Michigan trounced Indiana 80-62 inside Assembly Hall on Jan. 23 in what was the first time all season the Wolverines won consecutive conference games. In its last nine games entering the conference’s postseason, Michigan has alternated wins and losses — with a loss needed on Thursday for the streak to continue — as the Wolverines have been without their head coach Juwan Howard for their last five games, although he’ll return to the sidelines for the game against Indiana.
Against Michigan during the regular season, Indiana, just three days removed from its first win over Purdue in years, allowed 1.21 points per possession to the Wolverines, which benefited from sophomore Hunter Dickenson’s 25-point, nine-rebound effort that also featured a 3-for-4 3-point shooting performance. Freshman Caleb Houstan also had a standout performance with 19 points and six rebounds.
Indiana got just eight points and three rebounds from its bench, while it shot just 45 percent from 2-point range and 26 percent from behind the arc.
In the all-time series between the two schools, Indiana leads 107-65, but Michigan has completely dominated lately, having won the last nine meetings, dating back to the 2016 Big Ten Tournament, where No. 8 seed Michigan knocked off No. 1 seed and Big Ten champion Indiana 72-69 on Kameron Chatman’s game-winning 3-pointer in the final two tenths of a second of the game. The Hoosiers haven’t beaten the Wolverines since, with their last win in the series coming on the road in February 2016.
Game predictions
According to kenpom.com, Michigan has a slight edge over Indiana as the Wolverines are projected to win 70-68, with a 54-percent chance of victory. Similarly, ESPN’s BPI gives Indiana a 45.1-percent chance of winning.
The winner of Thursday’s second-round game will advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 1 seed Illinois at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday.