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Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell, right, tries to block the shot of Michigan guard Nik Stauskas in the first half of Sunday's game in Bloomington, Ind.
((AP Photo | Michael Conroy)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Many of Michigan's 16 wins have seen defenseless foes chase Nik Stauskas to no avail. The jumpers kept falling.
On Sunday, the Wolverines traveled to Indiana. They promptly winced, tasting their own medicine.
Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell rainbowed in 3-pointers from all over southern Indiana, shooting down Michigan's 10-game winning streak in a 63-52 victory.
Ferrell finished the day with 27 points in 37 minutes on 7-of-8 3-point shooting.
That was only on one side of the floor, though. Ferrell was the difference on the other end as well.
The 6-foot sophomore hounded and harassed Stauskas for the majority of the afternoon. Face-guarding him when the Hoosiers played man-to-man defense, Ferrell helped hold Stauskas to six points -- 12 under his season average of 18.4.
Michigan was looking for its first 9-0 start in the Big Ten since the 1964-65 Wolverines opened 10-0.
Instead, 10th-ranked Michigan fell to 16-5 overall and 8-1 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are now locked in a first-place tie atop the conference standings with No. 7 Michigan State (19-3, 8-1).
Frustrated offensively throughout Sunday's game, Michigan still had its opportunities for a win in Bloomington. Never trailing by more than eight in the second half, U-M always seemed one shot away from shifting the game's balance.
Down 53-47 with under three minutes left, a missed Stauskas layup was followed by missed free throws on the front-end of one-and-one opportunities by Jordan Morgan and Glenn Robinson III on back-to-back possessions.
Indiana (14-8, 4-5) capitalized with big baskets by Evan Gordon with 2:23 left, Austin Etherington with 1:31 left and Noah Vonleh with 35 seconds to go.
All reason and rationale would have had Michigan facing a hefty halftime deficit. The Wolverines missed 13 of their 20 first-half field goal attempts, didn't hit a 3-pointer, committed eight turnovers and scored only two points off seven Indiana turnovers.
Stauskas, Robinson III and Caris LeVert combined for just eight points in the first half.
So how did it come to pass that U-M only trailed 25-22 at the half? Defense and Jordan Morgan.
Squaring off with Vonleh -- a 6-foot-10, 240-pound freshman -- Morgan ripped down nine of Michigan's 14 first-half rebounds. Five of his boards were offensive, leading to five second chance points.
Derrick Walton led the way at the half with eight points and finished with a team-high 13.
He couldn't match Ferrell, though. Starring defensively on Stauskas and scoring 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, the sophomore opened the game with a 3-pointer and started a 7-0 IU run with another.
Indiana made 13-of-20 second-half shots, including 3-of-3 3-pointers, to close out the game.
LeVert ended the day as Michigan only other double-digit scorer, posting 12 points.
HIGHLIGHTS
-- Derrick Walton Jr. followed up strong performances against Michigan State (19 points) and Purdue (14) with another solid showing. The freshman point guard led U-M with 13 points.
-- Despite shooting 7-for-20 in the first half and with limited production from leading scorers Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Caris LeVert, Michigan trailed by only three, 25-22, in a difficult road environment.
LOWLIGHTS
-- Face-guarded and chased all over the floor, Nik Stauskas found limited open looks and scoring opportunities. The sophomore finished with just six points, his lowest tally since being held to four at Duke in December.
-- Michigan finished the day with only 18 made field goals and shot 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com