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Indiana University

  • Hoosiers carefully pick opponents
    Indiana signed on for two more years of the Crossroads Classic this week. It’s a move, coach Tom Crean said, that changes some non-conference scheduling.“We’re going to play a neutral game in Indianapolis.
  • Crossroads Classic extended through 2014
    The Crossroads Classic basketball event featuring Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Butler was extended for 2013 and 2014, the schools announced in a news release Tuesday.
  • Big Ten football sets schedules for 2015-16
    The Big Ten announced its conference football schedules for the 2015 and 2016 seasons today. Indiana kicks off the 2015 Big Ten campaign at Wisconsin on Oct. 3. The Hoosiers have home games against Illinois (Oct.
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Associated Press photos
Indiana’s Christian Watford reaches for a loose ball with Michigan’s Trey Burke during the first half Wednesday at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hoosiers lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Michigan 68, Indiana 56

Another bump in road

Hoosiers trail by 20 early, lose 4th straight away from home

IU’s Tom Pritchard and Michigan forward Jordan Morgan battle for a rebound.

– No. 20 Indiana dug a hole that doomed the Hoosiers at Michigan.

Trey Burke scored 10 of his 18 points in the opening minutes to help the 23rd-ranked Wolverines build a 20-point lead and then hang on for a 68-56 victory Wednesday.

“At the start of the game, we allowed a very good team to play like a great team because our players came out playing like they had seen a ghost,” Hoosiers coach Tom Crean said. “You cannot come out and not have a physical presence and give that kind of space to a team like Michigan.”

Indiana (17-6, 5-6 Big Ten) pulled within two points twice in the second half, including at 52-50 with 3:20 remaining, before losing for the fifth time in seven games and fourth straight on the road.

“I’m proud of the way we did come back. I’m proud of the players that did,” Crean said. “Our starting lineup was a joke and that’s why we didn’t play that lineup much longer after the initial start of the game.”

The Wolverines (17-6, 7-3) remained unbeaten at home.

Michigan scored the first 13 points on a Burke-led burst and eventually taking a 28-8 lead.

Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a three-pointer for Michigan, and after Indiana’s Derek Elston missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Stu Douglass made a three-pointer to put the Wolverines up by eight.

Jordan Hulls scored 18 points for Indiana, which lamented that the beginning of the game led to an unwanted finish.

“We can’t start out like that,” Hulls said. “It was just terrible.”

Cody Zeller had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Indiana’s Verdell Jones III, who was scoreless in 12 minutes, didn’t play after halftime because of a bruised shoulder that Crean said will be evaluated today.

The Hoosiers play at rival Purdue on Saturday night.

The Hoosiers beat Michigan 73-71 earlier in the season, part of a 15-1 start for Indiana that included wins over Kentucky and Ohio State.

“I told them that I’m looking for guys in February who play with a warrior spirit,” Crean said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re home or away.”

Burke opened the scoring with a spinning layup and added two three-pointers, and Zack Novak’s three-pointer from the right corner put Michigan ahead 13-0.

It was 28-8 after a free throw by Michigan’s Jordan Morgan, but Indiana scored nine straight points. Burke found a cutting Hardaway with an alley-oop pass to make it 33-20, and the Wolverines led 33-22 at halftime.

The Hoosiers kept chipping away in the second half. Watford’s three-point play made it 38-36 with 12:53 remaining, but Novak answered with a three-pointer, the start of a 9-2 run for Michigan.

Indiana trailed by six points when Hulls made a three-pointer and Watford added a free throw to again cut the deficit to two. But Hardaway connected from the left wing after a pass from Burke to make it 55-50.

Hulls went 4 of 5 from three-point range, but the rest of the Hoosiers were 1 of 9.