BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana beat the nation’s No. 1 team Saturday night and is now in position to reclaim the top spot.
Cody Zeller scored 19 points and Victor Oladipo had 15, leading the No. 3 Hoosiers to an 81-73 victory over top-ranked Michigan.
It’s the third time in school history that the Hoosiers (19-2, 8-1 Big Ten) have beaten the No. 1 team at home, and the first time they’ve done it in back-to-back seasons. The win gives Indiana a five-game winning streak, sole possession of the Big Ten lead and likely the top spot in the country again when Monday’s rankings come out.
In addition to Michigan’s defeat, No. 2 Kansas lost 85-80 to Oklahoma State.
It all came on a night when Indiana students were loud and raucous, even dancing in the stands. But they did not rush the court in full force as they did in 2001 when the Hoosiers upset Michigan State or in 2011 when they took down Kentucky, their other home wins against No. 1 teams.
The Wolverines (20-2, 7-2) were led by Trey Burke with 25 points and eight assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 in a game Michigan led only once, at 3-2, and spent most of the night playing catch-up after digging themselves an early hole.
Finally, after more than 20½ minutes of chasing the Hoosiers, the Wolverines finally caught them when Nik Stauskas made all three free throws with 17:42 left to tie the score at 40. It was the first time Michigan had even been tied since it was 5-all.
That didn’t last long, though.
Christian Watford broke the tie with two free throws on the next possession, Oladipo completed a three-point play, Watford made one of two free throws and Jordan Hulls hit a 3-pointer to give Indiana a 49-40 lead with 15:22 to play. After a basket from Will Sheehey completed the 11-0 run, Michigan came roaring back again with an 11-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 53-51 when Jon Horford scored on a putback with 11:02 to play.
But every time the Wolverines got close, Indiana answered.
The teams traded three straight 4-0 mini-runs. Then, after a three-point play by Burke, Hulls broke the trend by hitting a 3-pointer to make it 64-58.
Indiana finally got some breathing room with a late 7-2 run that made it 71-62 with 1:42 left, and the Hoosiers sealed it from the free throw line.
Michigan played most of the night without starting forward Jordan Morgan, who played just 2 minutes on a sprained right ankle before returning to the bench.