After beating the San Antonio Spurs by six points at home 112-106 to kick off the NBA season, the Thunder, after over half a season, traveled to San Antonio, Texas to take on the Spurs on Saturday, March 12, 2016. These two teams are two of the three best teams in the conference, along with the Golden State Warriors, and could potentially meet each other some time in the playoffs. In my opinion, it matches the team with two of the most talented players in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, against the best defensive and most experienced team in the league in the San Antonio Spurs. It also matches my favorite team, the Thunder, against my dad's favorite team, the Spurs. The Spurs, coming into this game had a 40 game home-win streak, and they hoped to continue it against a struggling Thunder team who had not been able to close out a game in the fourth quarter since the All-Star Break.
In the first quarter, the teams stayed pretty close, with LaMarcus Aldridge playing well for the Spurs, and a variety of players getting it done for the Thunder. Neither Durant nor Westbrook were able to show complete dominance in the first period, however, they did both score a few points to get themselves started. Ultimately, at the end of the first twelve minutes, the home team San Antonio Spurs led the Thunder by three points 25-22.
The second quarter displayed Westbrook and Durant's capabilities as they put on a show, along with Enes Kanter, Randy Foye, and Serge Ibaka, outscoring the Spurs by seven in the quarter to take a 49-45 lead. This is something the Thunder need to do if they want a chance at the NBA Finals. They must play Durant and Westbrook together as much as possible to spread the floor, and they need their role players like Foye, Kanter, Ibaka, Anthony Morrow, and Dion Waiters to score so that the offensive load isn't completely on the shoulders of the Thunder's Dynamic Duo.
The third quarter saw the Thunder doing almost the exact opposite of what I explained they needed to do in the paragraph above. Although Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka did help a little in carrying the offensive load, the majority of it was on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. In this quarter the Thunder only managed 19 points and were outscored by the Spurs by two allowing them to cut their lead to 68-66. This was because the Thunder did not have a lot of scoring options as Billy Donovan chose to sit Durant while Westbrook was playing and when Durant subbed back in, Donovan chose to sub him in for Westbrook. This prevented the Thunder from spreading the floor much and allowed the defensive-minded Spurs to focus on either Westbrook and Durant and cause the Thunder to depend on its role-players for scoring.
In the final quarter, the Thunder had a very sloppy performance similar to many of the recent games since the All-Star break. They were unable to keep a fourth quarter lead and turned the ball over many times. Ultimately, it led to the San Antonio Spurs taking game two of the series by outscoring the Thunder 27-17 in the final period to win the game 93-85 in a disappointing ending for Thunder fans. However, OKC will have a chance at redemption later this month on March 26, as they host the Spurs once again for game three.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Illinois Stuns Iowa in Second Round of Big Ten Tournament
Typical typical Iowa. After kicking off the season with a decent start, and looking like a team that could be a potential one seed that could go all the way, the Iowa Hawkeyes crumbled when a chance at the Big Ten Title came their way. Iowa started off the season great, winning a decent amount of games over non-conference opponents before the start of the Big Ten season. When conference play did begin, however, Iowa kicked it off with a bang, winning their conference opener at home against the then-ranked Number One Michigan State Spartans, albeit without star-player Denzel Valentine, but still a great win at home to knock off a Big Ten Juggernaut. The Hawkeyes, then went on to open their Big Ten season 7-0 including another game against the Spartans in East Lansing with the return of Valentine as well as two hard-fought games against the Purdue Boilermakers. The Hawks then lost a close one at Maryland before getting back on their feet, but after a loss against the Hoosiers four games later, the Hawks began to crumble. After a quick 7-0 start in Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes finished 5-6 to end the season with a conference record of 12-6, enough to get them a bye in the first round of the Big Ten title, but not a potentially crucial double bye. Thus, in the second round of the playoffs the Hawks met, and were upset, by the Illinois Fighting Illini in typical Iowa fashion.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have not been known to do particularly well in the Big Ten tournament, losing many games in which they were the favorites to win, and this year was no exception. After gaining a bye in the first round, the Hawks met the Illini in the second round. The Illini started the game off quick, opening with an 11-4 lead. For the next few minutes, the Hawks attempted to catch the Illini, but were unable to come up with needed defensive stops, or find any reliable scoring other than Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff, as is often the case for the Hawkeyes, thus after a TV timeout was called with 7:30 left in the first half, the Hawkeyes trailed 24-13. After playing resumed, the Hawks finally began to go on a run and with 3:24 left in the half, Iowa took a 29-28 lead off a jumper by Jok. The teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the first period, but after a three-pointer by Illini Jalen Coleman-Lands, the Iowa Hawkeyes had a 35-37 deficit after a shocking first half.
The first half of the second period did not go well at all for the Hawkeyes as the Fighting Illini were able to increase their lead to 11 with 10:49 left to go before the final buzzer sounded. However, the Hawks were not to be put away that easily. With a 16-5 run, the Hawkeyes stunned the Illini by tying the game with 1:40 left after a three-point play by Nicholas Baer. The Illini responded with a jumper by Malcolm Hill with a 1:15 left coming out of a timeout, and after either incredible defense, or just plain horrible offense, the Illini won the game after neither team scored in the time remaining.
The biggest problem for the Hawkeyes in this match up was probably the lack of the distribution of offense. Other than Jok and Uthoff, only Nicholas Baer managed to score more than three points in an awful offensive performance for the rest of the team. After Jok fouled out, the Hawks were just plain unable to find a scoring option, and ended up being upset by the Illini.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have not been known to do particularly well in the Big Ten tournament, losing many games in which they were the favorites to win, and this year was no exception. After gaining a bye in the first round, the Hawks met the Illini in the second round. The Illini started the game off quick, opening with an 11-4 lead. For the next few minutes, the Hawks attempted to catch the Illini, but were unable to come up with needed defensive stops, or find any reliable scoring other than Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff, as is often the case for the Hawkeyes, thus after a TV timeout was called with 7:30 left in the first half, the Hawkeyes trailed 24-13. After playing resumed, the Hawks finally began to go on a run and with 3:24 left in the half, Iowa took a 29-28 lead off a jumper by Jok. The teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the first period, but after a three-pointer by Illini Jalen Coleman-Lands, the Iowa Hawkeyes had a 35-37 deficit after a shocking first half.
The first half of the second period did not go well at all for the Hawkeyes as the Fighting Illini were able to increase their lead to 11 with 10:49 left to go before the final buzzer sounded. However, the Hawks were not to be put away that easily. With a 16-5 run, the Hawkeyes stunned the Illini by tying the game with 1:40 left after a three-point play by Nicholas Baer. The Illini responded with a jumper by Malcolm Hill with a 1:15 left coming out of a timeout, and after either incredible defense, or just plain horrible offense, the Illini won the game after neither team scored in the time remaining.
The biggest problem for the Hawkeyes in this match up was probably the lack of the distribution of offense. Other than Jok and Uthoff, only Nicholas Baer managed to score more than three points in an awful offensive performance for the rest of the team. After Jok fouled out, the Hawks were just plain unable to find a scoring option, and ended up being upset by the Illini.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Will The Warriors Make History
The defending champion Golden State Warriors are on to something incredible this season. After defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals last year and ruining LeBron James's homecoming return back to the Cavs after spending four years with the Miami Heat and winning two rings, everybody thought the Warriors were unstoppable. It turns out, everyone underestimated them. In a way that doesn't make sense to really anybody, the Warriors have gotten even better than they were last year, and last year's MVP Stephen Curry definitely can make a case for being both the MVP and Most Improved Player after he shattered his three-point record for most made threes in an NBA season. However, the biggest question on everybody's minds since practically the beginning of the season: will this team win 73 games this season to make history as one of the best teams ever in NBA history?
Currently holding the record are the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls team, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who won an astounding 72 wins in one NBA season, and ultimately went on to beat the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, to win the NBA Finals. That year, the Chicago Bulls made incredible history becoming the first team ever to even win 70 games in an 82-game season. Nobody ever thought an accomplishment such as this could be surpassed at the time, but the Golden State Warriors have an actually very good chance at completing this very feat.
The Warriors are currently 53-5, more than halfway to the record, after an incredible win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. If they can finish the season 20-4, they can do something they, and many others, will remember for the rest of their lives. While they still will have some tough competition, their remaining schedule shows that achieving this goal is actually very possible. Most of the remaining teams they play do not pose a huge threat to them, as those teams have struggled this season, but there are three teams that could crush the Golden State Warriors' hopes if they play at their best: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Warriors' greatest threat, the San Antonio Spurs.
Their next big match up comes on Thursday against the Thunder. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are sure to remember their loss in OKC so they will probably play very hard in order to get their revenge. Next on Saturday, March 19, the Warriors will have to face their most-feared opponent in the San Antonio Spurs, who they will have to play three times before the end of the regular season. This first match up will be interesting as the Spurs, who have the second best record in all the NBA, behind the Warriors, have never lost in NBA game at home this regular season, so the Warriors will have a difficult time beating them. The other two match ups come at basically the end of the regular season, so Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will likely rest his key players which may make it easier for the Warriors who will probably look to make history rather than resting. Their last tough match up will be against the Los Angeles Clippers, who always seem to play hard against the Warriors, however, the Clippers will be without Blake Griffin who is out with a hand injury and still has to pay a suspension for an altercation earlier in the season.
The Warriors still have a tough road ahead, but it looks very likely that they could make history this year.
Currently holding the record are the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls team, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who won an astounding 72 wins in one NBA season, and ultimately went on to beat the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, to win the NBA Finals. That year, the Chicago Bulls made incredible history becoming the first team ever to even win 70 games in an 82-game season. Nobody ever thought an accomplishment such as this could be surpassed at the time, but the Golden State Warriors have an actually very good chance at completing this very feat.
The Warriors are currently 53-5, more than halfway to the record, after an incredible win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. If they can finish the season 20-4, they can do something they, and many others, will remember for the rest of their lives. While they still will have some tough competition, their remaining schedule shows that achieving this goal is actually very possible. Most of the remaining teams they play do not pose a huge threat to them, as those teams have struggled this season, but there are three teams that could crush the Golden State Warriors' hopes if they play at their best: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Warriors' greatest threat, the San Antonio Spurs.
Their next big match up comes on Thursday against the Thunder. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are sure to remember their loss in OKC so they will probably play very hard in order to get their revenge. Next on Saturday, March 19, the Warriors will have to face their most-feared opponent in the San Antonio Spurs, who they will have to play three times before the end of the regular season. This first match up will be interesting as the Spurs, who have the second best record in all the NBA, behind the Warriors, have never lost in NBA game at home this regular season, so the Warriors will have a difficult time beating them. The other two match ups come at basically the end of the regular season, so Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will likely rest his key players which may make it easier for the Warriors who will probably look to make history rather than resting. Their last tough match up will be against the Los Angeles Clippers, who always seem to play hard against the Warriors, however, the Clippers will be without Blake Griffin who is out with a hand injury and still has to pay a suspension for an altercation earlier in the season.
The Warriors still have a tough road ahead, but it looks very likely that they could make history this year.
Hawkeyes In A Slump
On Sunday, February 28, 2016, the Hawkeyes lost yet another game to a team they probably should have beaten. This is Iowa's third straight loss, and it really hurt any hopes they had for the Big Ten Title. This past Wednesday, the Hawks dropped a tough won against the Wisconsin Badgers at home. The Badgers, to be fair, were a formidable opponent who had won eight of their last ten games, including wins over both the Indiana Hoosiers and the Maryland Terrapins, who are two of the teams Iowa is competing most heavily against for the Big Ten Title. However, the Hawks did lose a game against Penn State that they really should have won and earlier, dropped a game against the Hoosiers in Indiana in which the Hawks led for a while in the second half after overcoming a 7-point halftime deficit. The Hawks will have a chance for revenge on Tuesday, March 1, in a must-win rematch against the Indiana Hoosiers. One of the most frustrating things about the current slump the Hawkeyes are in is that most of the players, and even head coach Fran McCaffery, do not even seem to be upset about their current state. They just seem to act like there was nothing they could do and aren't really trying to do anything to pump themselves up or change their game plan.
This game against the Ohio State Buckeyes was particularly frustrating for Hawkeye fans, as the Hawks just didn't seem to play with any intensity or desperation, especially on the defensive end. The game started off similar to many games for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as Jarrod Uthoff started out hot early, making a lot of his jumpers. The biggest problem with Uthoff is that once the defense starts focusing on him in the second half, he almost disappears, and doesn't really call for the ball much in the clutch when he needs to take over in order for the Hawkeyes to pull out a win. This was just another case of that, as after Uthoff started the game strong, he failed to do much later in the game, especially when the Hawkeyes needed him most. Throughout the remainder of the first half, the game went back-and-forth for the most part, but the home team Ohio State Buckeyes eventually took the lead with a bunch of made free-throws after the Hawks were called for many fouls.
The second half started slow with neither team able to score on their first couple possessions until Peter Jok, Iowa's sharpshooter, nailed a three-point jumper to cut the Buckeye's lead from 35-30 to just three points 35-33. After a couple of empty possessions for both teams, Iowa tied the game back up at 35 all with two free throws from senior point guard Mike Gesell. The Buckeyes responded with a 4-0 run off of a quick bucket from Daniel Giddens and two free throws from Keita Bates-Diop after Jok was called for another foul. The teams battled back-and-forth for a while with each team losing the lead and then taking it back, with Iowa ultimately gaining a five-point edge over the home team after two made free throws from Dom Uhl with 9:37 to play with the score 51-46 in favor of the Iowa Hawkeyes. For the next six and a half minutes, the Ohio State Buckeyes tried to take back the lead, but every time they would get close the Hawks would once again pull away, until at the 2:56 mark, Marc Loving drained a three to bring the Buckeyes within one point 61-62. After a missed layup by Gesell, the Buckeyes took a lead off the jumper from Kam Williams and never gave it back winning 68-64.
This game against the Ohio State Buckeyes was particularly frustrating for Hawkeye fans, as the Hawks just didn't seem to play with any intensity or desperation, especially on the defensive end. The game started off similar to many games for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as Jarrod Uthoff started out hot early, making a lot of his jumpers. The biggest problem with Uthoff is that once the defense starts focusing on him in the second half, he almost disappears, and doesn't really call for the ball much in the clutch when he needs to take over in order for the Hawkeyes to pull out a win. This was just another case of that, as after Uthoff started the game strong, he failed to do much later in the game, especially when the Hawkeyes needed him most. Throughout the remainder of the first half, the game went back-and-forth for the most part, but the home team Ohio State Buckeyes eventually took the lead with a bunch of made free-throws after the Hawks were called for many fouls.
The second half started slow with neither team able to score on their first couple possessions until Peter Jok, Iowa's sharpshooter, nailed a three-point jumper to cut the Buckeye's lead from 35-30 to just three points 35-33. After a couple of empty possessions for both teams, Iowa tied the game back up at 35 all with two free throws from senior point guard Mike Gesell. The Buckeyes responded with a 4-0 run off of a quick bucket from Daniel Giddens and two free throws from Keita Bates-Diop after Jok was called for another foul. The teams battled back-and-forth for a while with each team losing the lead and then taking it back, with Iowa ultimately gaining a five-point edge over the home team after two made free throws from Dom Uhl with 9:37 to play with the score 51-46 in favor of the Iowa Hawkeyes. For the next six and a half minutes, the Ohio State Buckeyes tried to take back the lead, but every time they would get close the Hawks would once again pull away, until at the 2:56 mark, Marc Loving drained a three to bring the Buckeyes within one point 61-62. After a missed layup by Gesell, the Buckeyes took a lead off the jumper from Kam Williams and never gave it back winning 68-64.
Curry's Three-Point Bomb Beats OKC
On Saturday, February 27, 2016, the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who currently have the best record throughout all the NBA, and also the best record ever through 58 games in NBA history, traveled to the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to take on one of the best duos in the NBA in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently have the third best record all throughout the entire league. The Warriors, who could clinch a playoff berth with a difficult hard-fought win, were coming into the game on a four-game winning streak after taking down the Orlando Magic on the road, and they were chasing history as they have an actual chance at beating the record for total wins in an 82 game season. All they need is 73 wins and they are more than halfway there needing, now, only 20 more wins out of their 24 remaining games. The Thunder, on the other hand, came into the game following a loss at New Orleans against the Pelicans, and really wanted a win over one of their biggest conference rivals this year.
The game started out perfectly for the home team Oklahoma City Thunder, as pretty much everything that could possibly go their way was, in fact, going their way. Steven Adams won the tip off against Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut and Serge Ibaka gained possession of the ball. Within 15 seconds, Russell Westbrook, the point guard for Oklahoma City, was able to drive hard past defending NBA MVP Stephen Curry for a nice layup allowing all the fans in OKC to take a seat. In Chesapeake Energy Arena, the fans have a tradition that they must remain standing until the Thunder score a basket, regardless of how long that might take. After Westbrook's layup, Draymond Green of the Warriors missed a shot and Kevin Durant rebounded the ball, and after a nice assist from his teammate, Steven Adams, Durant nailed a 25-foot three point jumper to increase the Thunder's lead to five points. Once again, the Warriors were unable to respond as one half of the Splash Brothers Klay Thompson was unable to respond to Durant's three with a 25-foot jumper of his own. The Thunder rebounded the ball and this time, Durant pump-faked on a three, drove the ball down the lane, and after drawing all the defenders to the paint surrounding him, he kicked the ball out to Andre Roberson for another Thunder three causing all the fans in Chesapeake Energy Arena to explode in a ball of completely and utterly ecstatic excitement. The Warriors were able to bounce back a little after a short 5-0 run of their own capped by Steph Curry's first of twelve threes of the night to cut the Thunder's lead down to a score of 8-5. Throughout the rest of the quarter the teams battled back-and-forth, but the Thunder showed dominance through Kevin Durant to end the quarter with a 30-20 lead against the struggling Warriors who were unable to score a lot without Stephen Curry.
The second quarter went a little better for the Warriors as the Thunder did not blow them out. However, the Thunder did still manage to outscore them in the quarter by 1 27-26 to take a 57-46 lead going into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, the Warriors had a better time, outscoring the Thunder by five points, but they did get quite a scare midway through the quarter. During a play, Stephen Curry rolled his ankle, and Westbrook accidentally stepped on it and Curry was unable to get up. As the Thunder rebounded the ball and took it to the other end, Curry screamed at his teammates to commit a foul so he could sub out of the game and get his ankle re-taped. Luckily for the Warriors, Curry was able to come back in and play at full form later in the game.
In the final, quarter, the Thunder played horribly. They were unable to stop Curry and his three point bombs, and without Durant, they were unable to score. They also did not think very well. With 11 seconds left, the Thunder were up by 2 points and had possession of the ball. They got the ball into Durant who got trapped, and they should have called timeout. However, Durant made an awful mistake of trying to throw the ball to waste time. Iguodala stole the ball and was fouled with no time left on the clock. He made both free throws and sent the game into overtime.
In overtime, Durant fouled out right away and the Thunder no longer had a scoring threat. Curry made a 37-foot three pointer with practically no time left on the clock sealing the win for the Warriors 121-118 in a heartbreaking loss for the Thunder.
The game started out perfectly for the home team Oklahoma City Thunder, as pretty much everything that could possibly go their way was, in fact, going their way. Steven Adams won the tip off against Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut and Serge Ibaka gained possession of the ball. Within 15 seconds, Russell Westbrook, the point guard for Oklahoma City, was able to drive hard past defending NBA MVP Stephen Curry for a nice layup allowing all the fans in OKC to take a seat. In Chesapeake Energy Arena, the fans have a tradition that they must remain standing until the Thunder score a basket, regardless of how long that might take. After Westbrook's layup, Draymond Green of the Warriors missed a shot and Kevin Durant rebounded the ball, and after a nice assist from his teammate, Steven Adams, Durant nailed a 25-foot three point jumper to increase the Thunder's lead to five points. Once again, the Warriors were unable to respond as one half of the Splash Brothers Klay Thompson was unable to respond to Durant's three with a 25-foot jumper of his own. The Thunder rebounded the ball and this time, Durant pump-faked on a three, drove the ball down the lane, and after drawing all the defenders to the paint surrounding him, he kicked the ball out to Andre Roberson for another Thunder three causing all the fans in Chesapeake Energy Arena to explode in a ball of completely and utterly ecstatic excitement. The Warriors were able to bounce back a little after a short 5-0 run of their own capped by Steph Curry's first of twelve threes of the night to cut the Thunder's lead down to a score of 8-5. Throughout the rest of the quarter the teams battled back-and-forth, but the Thunder showed dominance through Kevin Durant to end the quarter with a 30-20 lead against the struggling Warriors who were unable to score a lot without Stephen Curry.
The second quarter went a little better for the Warriors as the Thunder did not blow them out. However, the Thunder did still manage to outscore them in the quarter by 1 27-26 to take a 57-46 lead going into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, the Warriors had a better time, outscoring the Thunder by five points, but they did get quite a scare midway through the quarter. During a play, Stephen Curry rolled his ankle, and Westbrook accidentally stepped on it and Curry was unable to get up. As the Thunder rebounded the ball and took it to the other end, Curry screamed at his teammates to commit a foul so he could sub out of the game and get his ankle re-taped. Luckily for the Warriors, Curry was able to come back in and play at full form later in the game.
In the final, quarter, the Thunder played horribly. They were unable to stop Curry and his three point bombs, and without Durant, they were unable to score. They also did not think very well. With 11 seconds left, the Thunder were up by 2 points and had possession of the ball. They got the ball into Durant who got trapped, and they should have called timeout. However, Durant made an awful mistake of trying to throw the ball to waste time. Iguodala stole the ball and was fouled with no time left on the clock. He made both free throws and sent the game into overtime.
In overtime, Durant fouled out right away and the Thunder no longer had a scoring threat. Curry made a 37-foot three pointer with practically no time left on the clock sealing the win for the Warriors 121-118 in a heartbreaking loss for the Thunder.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Maryland Fends Off Michigan
On Sunday, February 21, 2016, the Maryland Terrapins were in desperate need of a win at home in the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland against the Michigan Wolverines. They had just seen their biggest competitor for the Big Ten Title in the Indiana Hoosiers take care of business in a hard-fought battle against the Purdue Boilermakers. They knew that if they wanted to stay in the race, a win would be incredibly crucial, especially after losing two straight games against the Wisconsin Badgers and on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are one of the worst Big Ten Teams this year. They also wanted this win badly because it was this very same Michigan Wolverines team who had handed them their first Big Ten loss at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan earlier this year.
The game started off with a turnover by the home team Terrapins and a three by Michigan Wolverine Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Both teams would have a lot of trouble taking care of the ball. The Michigan Wolverines would, by the end of the night, turn the ball over to the home team a total of sixteen times. However, the Maryland Terrapins would have an even harder time taking care of the rock, forking it over to the Wolverines 18 times by the time the final buzzer sounded. Maryland ended up responding on the next possession as Diamond Stone, who had been suspended and was unable to play against the Minnesota Golden Gophers due to a flagrant foul he committed against the Wisconsin Badgers, hit a jumper to bring the game to a score of 3-2 in favor of the Wolverines. The game went pretty back-and-forth after that until there was only 13:14 left in the first half. Prior to that point, the game was tied 12-12. However, when the clock did strike 13:14, Jared Nickens of the Terrapins buried a three to start a 14-0 run for the home team to take a 26-12 lead against their opposition. Throughout the rest of the half, Michigan fought hard and clawed away at the Terrapins' lead, but they still went into the halftime break with a five point deficit. By the time the first 20 minutes of the game had expired, the home team held a 41-36 lead against the Wolverines.
Michigan started the second half on an 11-6 run to tie the game at 47-47 to the dismay of all the fans watching in the Xfinity Center. For a few minutes the game went back-and-forth, but eventually, the Terrapins gathered a decent 8-point lead to give them a little breathing room against the Wolves but it would not last long. Michigan came fighting back and eventually tied the game, once again, with 6:34 left before the final buzzer. After a free throw and a layup, the Wolverines took back the lead by 3. The Terrapins, again, regained the lead, but the Michigan Wolverines would not go away. With only 9 seconds remaining, Duncan Robinson buried a three point jumper to bring the Wolves within just two points, but it would be Maryland ball. The Wolverines tried fouling right away, but they ended up fouling a good free-throw shooter in Melo Trimble who made both shots at the charity stripe to put the game away.
The game started off with a turnover by the home team Terrapins and a three by Michigan Wolverine Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Both teams would have a lot of trouble taking care of the ball. The Michigan Wolverines would, by the end of the night, turn the ball over to the home team a total of sixteen times. However, the Maryland Terrapins would have an even harder time taking care of the rock, forking it over to the Wolverines 18 times by the time the final buzzer sounded. Maryland ended up responding on the next possession as Diamond Stone, who had been suspended and was unable to play against the Minnesota Golden Gophers due to a flagrant foul he committed against the Wisconsin Badgers, hit a jumper to bring the game to a score of 3-2 in favor of the Wolverines. The game went pretty back-and-forth after that until there was only 13:14 left in the first half. Prior to that point, the game was tied 12-12. However, when the clock did strike 13:14, Jared Nickens of the Terrapins buried a three to start a 14-0 run for the home team to take a 26-12 lead against their opposition. Throughout the rest of the half, Michigan fought hard and clawed away at the Terrapins' lead, but they still went into the halftime break with a five point deficit. By the time the first 20 minutes of the game had expired, the home team held a 41-36 lead against the Wolverines.
Michigan started the second half on an 11-6 run to tie the game at 47-47 to the dismay of all the fans watching in the Xfinity Center. For a few minutes the game went back-and-forth, but eventually, the Terrapins gathered a decent 8-point lead to give them a little breathing room against the Wolves but it would not last long. Michigan came fighting back and eventually tied the game, once again, with 6:34 left before the final buzzer. After a free throw and a layup, the Wolverines took back the lead by 3. The Terrapins, again, regained the lead, but the Michigan Wolverines would not go away. With only 9 seconds remaining, Duncan Robinson buried a three point jumper to bring the Wolves within just two points, but it would be Maryland ball. The Wolverines tried fouling right away, but they ended up fouling a good free-throw shooter in Melo Trimble who made both shots at the charity stripe to put the game away.
Indiana Fights Off Purdue At Home
On Saturday, February 20, 2016, the Number 22 Ranked Indiana Hoosiers hosted the Number 17 Ranked Purdue Boilermakers in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. This was a very big match up as Indiana was in desperate need for a win to keep their lead heading into the final stretch of the Big Ten Title over the Maryland Terrapins and the Iowa Hawkeyes. With two seven-footers on the Boilermakers with A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas, the home team knew that they would have a difficult time, especially in the paint. However, the Hoosiers knew they had a good home court advantage as they had won every single home game (15 games) coming into this one.
The first half, specifically the first two minutes, started off well for the Boilermakers, opening the game with two quick baskets. However, right before the clock hit 18 minutes left in the half, Indiana's best player, Yogi Ferrell, did what he's done many games this season to get the game started for the Hoosiers, bury a three to make the home crowd explode with excitement. The next two minutes of the game were a little less exciting for anyone as both teams were unable to make any of their shot attempts to keep the score stagnant. After, Indiana Hoosier Troy Williams was fouled by A.J. Hammons, however, the game flow started to pick up. After Williams made both of his shots at the charity stripe, the next two minutes were full of action until a T.V. timeout was called to give everyone a break. Following Williams' free throws, P.J. Thompson of the Boilermakers buried a three to stun the crowd, but they weren't silenced for long as Yogi Ferrell hit another jumper to bring the game to 9-7 in favor of Purdue. The Boilermakers responded with a layup by Isaac Haas, but Troy Williams responded with another three for the home team. The game was pretty back-and-forth after that for a few minutes until Juwan Morgan hit yet another three for the Hoosiers, giving them their first lead of the night. For the rest of the half, the Hoosiers absolutely dominated with intense defensive pressure along the perimeter and great three point shooting. They went into the halftime break with a 35-28 lead.
The second half started the same way it ended for the Purdue Boilermakers as right away, they turned the ball over. Turnovers were a crucial part in the game as the Hoosiers scored 20 points off of turnovers compared to the Boilermakers' 3 measly points. Purdue turned the ball over a total of 13 times to the only 4 turnovers committed by the Hoosiers. Through most of the half, the Hoosiers maintained a nice and comfortable lead. The Boilermakers were unable to continuously make baskets and whenever they did, they were unable to get a stop on the other end to try and cut away at the home team's lead. However, with 51 seconds left, A.J. Hammons made a layup to cut the lead to just five points. Just two seconds later, P.J. Thompson stole the ball from Yogi Ferrell and Dakota Mathias drained a three point jumper to cut the lead to just two points with 39 seconds left. With 7 seconds left, however, Ferrell made a layup to put the Hoosiers up 4 and end all the hopes for the Boilermakers in an exciting finish.
The first half, specifically the first two minutes, started off well for the Boilermakers, opening the game with two quick baskets. However, right before the clock hit 18 minutes left in the half, Indiana's best player, Yogi Ferrell, did what he's done many games this season to get the game started for the Hoosiers, bury a three to make the home crowd explode with excitement. The next two minutes of the game were a little less exciting for anyone as both teams were unable to make any of their shot attempts to keep the score stagnant. After, Indiana Hoosier Troy Williams was fouled by A.J. Hammons, however, the game flow started to pick up. After Williams made both of his shots at the charity stripe, the next two minutes were full of action until a T.V. timeout was called to give everyone a break. Following Williams' free throws, P.J. Thompson of the Boilermakers buried a three to stun the crowd, but they weren't silenced for long as Yogi Ferrell hit another jumper to bring the game to 9-7 in favor of Purdue. The Boilermakers responded with a layup by Isaac Haas, but Troy Williams responded with another three for the home team. The game was pretty back-and-forth after that for a few minutes until Juwan Morgan hit yet another three for the Hoosiers, giving them their first lead of the night. For the rest of the half, the Hoosiers absolutely dominated with intense defensive pressure along the perimeter and great three point shooting. They went into the halftime break with a 35-28 lead.
The second half started the same way it ended for the Purdue Boilermakers as right away, they turned the ball over. Turnovers were a crucial part in the game as the Hoosiers scored 20 points off of turnovers compared to the Boilermakers' 3 measly points. Purdue turned the ball over a total of 13 times to the only 4 turnovers committed by the Hoosiers. Through most of the half, the Hoosiers maintained a nice and comfortable lead. The Boilermakers were unable to continuously make baskets and whenever they did, they were unable to get a stop on the other end to try and cut away at the home team's lead. However, with 51 seconds left, A.J. Hammons made a layup to cut the lead to just five points. Just two seconds later, P.J. Thompson stole the ball from Yogi Ferrell and Dakota Mathias drained a three point jumper to cut the lead to just two points with 39 seconds left. With 7 seconds left, however, Ferrell made a layup to put the Hoosiers up 4 and end all the hopes for the Boilermakers in an exciting finish.
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