No. 3 Michigan continues to roll with 73-57 win at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Juwan Howard understands the power of patience. It should serve No. 3 Michigan well this week.

Thirty seasons after first arriving in Ann Arbor as part of the famed Fab Five, the second-year coach watched Franz Wagner match his season high with 21 points and Isaiah Livers finish with 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Wolverines pulled away or a 73-57 victory at Indiana — and to the precipice of Howard's first Big Ten crown.

“There's a reason I think Michigan is championship good," Hoosiers coach Archie Miller said. “To me, they're really complete and they have a great opportunity to go as far as anyone in the country."

If conference officials award the league crown based on winning percentage as others intend to do, Saturday's victory would have locked it up. But there has been no formal announcement from Big Ten officials and there was no response to emails seeking clarification from The Associated Press.

But if Michigan keeps playing this well, it could be just a formality.

The Wolverines have won seven straight and are 5-0 since resuming play following a COVID-19 pause. They've also won eight straight over Indiana, three in Bloomington, and it didn't take Michigan long to break this one open.

Mike Smith started the decisive 10-0 spurt with a 3-pointer midway through the first half and capped it by making two free throws for a 32-21 lead. After the Hoosiers answered with five straight to cut the deficit to six, Michigan went on a 10-3 run for a 42-29 lead.

“Today's emphasis was energy," Howard said. “We knew we weren't going to walk in here and just get a win. I knew Indiana would be prepared and they would come out with great energy. But we emphasized that we had to be ready from the jump ball and they were ready from the jump ball."

Livers opened the second half with three straight 3s to expand the margin and the Wolverines sealed the victory with an 8-0 spurt that made it 59-42 with 11:23 to play. Now they'll wait to see if that's enough to capture their first conference regular-season title since 2014.

Aljami Durham led Indiana (12-12, 7-10) with 15 points while Race Thompson added 11 points and six rebounds. Indiana has lost three straight and four of its last five as they fight for an NCAA Tournament bid.