Chatman Saves the Day as Michigan Upsets Indiana

What a game!  This is what College Basketball fans live for, this game is why March can be better than Christmas.  Today’s game had literally everything, a team fighting for a spot in the tournament, March magic, a major upset and most importantly a buzzer beating three by Kameron Chatman.  Technically it went through with .2 seconds but close enough.

Michigan won the game that ultimately decided their season.  Michigan went into today’s game needing a resume builder and #10 Indiana provided the perfect opportunity.  Michigan and Indiana were neck and neck throughout the whole game, with neither team holding a double digit lead at any point.

One of the big factors in Michigan’s win was due to the big men.  Yes, the big men.  This is not something any Michigan fan is used to saying this year.  The big men have struggled to say the least this year but Moritz Wagner and Mark Donnal stepped up today.  The two were not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, with Donnal traveling on an open layup and also passing up open shots with the shot clock winding down.  The two combined for 21 points, 6 rebounds and two huge blocks both coming from Donnal.

The team as a whole played extremely well.  The impressive most impressive part of the game might have been the fact that the Wolverines were very stout in the paint today.  The Wolverines had 40 points in the paint today, this is an area that the Wolverines have struggled with mightily all season.

Michigan was led by Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. who both had amazing games.  Zak Irvin lead the team in points (17) and rebounds (5).  Zak was huge from both the free throw line and the field today.  Irvin was 6/6 from the charity stripe, which is an area he was struggling in.  Derrick Walton was amazing today also, his point total today was not the most impressive, but he was a huge role in the offense and defense.  Walton finished the game with a B1G Tournament record for most assists in a game (12).  Walton was stout defensively with two steals and kept Yogi Ferrell mostly in check.

This was a huge win for the Wolverines, but they are not completely out of the woods yet.  The Wolverines will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday to play the winner between Purdue and Illinois.  The game Saturday will be at 1 P.M. EST and can be watched on CBS.

Photo Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP Photo