By MICHAEL MAROT
Michigan’s Kameron Chatman finally got a chance at his dream shot Friday.
He made it count, too.
The light-scoring sophomore knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Wolverines a 72-69 upset over No. 10 Indiana in the Big Ten quarterfinals — and more importantly, another chance to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
“I knew I was going to be in the corner and I told myself I was going to be ready to shoot it,” he said. “I hesitated just a little bit but then seeing how much time was on the clock and I let it go and it felt good when it left my hand. It was pretty good.”
Or at least good enough for maybe the unlikeliest shooter on the court to send the Wolverines (22-11) into Saturday’s semifinal round.
Coming into the game, Chatman’s season stat line read 26 of 63 from the field, 7 of 27 on 3s, 69 points.
So when he took only two shots in the first 39 minutes, it looked like this game was right in line with the way he played all season.
Instead, when Derrick Walton Jr. dribbled to his right and found Chatman in front of the Michigan bench, the 6-foot-8 swingman took the shot over Nick Zeisloft, who was a smidge late on the closeout. The basket set off a wild celebration that was briefly halted when the officials put 0.2 seconds back on the clock.
That wasn’t even enough time for Indiana (25-7) to get a shot off.
“That’s a fairy-tale type of shot,” Duncan Robinson said. “I’m just happy.”
Robinson also hit a big shot — a 3 from the opposite corner with 46 seconds to go to tie the score at 69. He finished with 12 points.
Zak Irvin led Michigan with 15 and Chatman finished with five.
For the Hoosiers, the Big Ten regular-season champs, it was another frustrating disappointment in the conference and this time in their own backyard.
Indiana was led by Troy Williams, who had 16 points, and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, who had 14. Thomas Bryant finished with 13 points and seven rebounds and O.G. Anunoby had a career-high 13 points.
The problem was turnovers. The Hoosiers threw the ball away 15 times, the last coming with 19.9 seconds to go when they could have broken a 69-all tie.
“We’ve got take care of the ball and not make home-run plays,” Ferrell said. “This whole season, I felt like we haven’t tried to make the home-run plays, we tried to make the extra pass and that’s really helped us. I hope we can learn from this.”
MINUS-28
In the only previous meeting between the teams this season, Indiana beat Michigan 80-67. Though the final score didn’t reveal the extent of the blowout, the game swung on the Hoosiers’ 28-0 run. When that run didn’t come Friday, it was almost even. There were 18 lead changes and 12 ties, and neither team led by more than six. The biggest run by either team was a 9-0 spurt by Michigan midway through the second half.
MISTAKE PRONE
Indiana didn’t just commit turnovers. Michigan scored off the miscues, too. The Wolverines wound up with a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers even though the Hoosiers outscored Michigan by nine on fast-break points and had a 37-25 advantage in rebounding.
MAKING THE CASE
Heading into this week, conventional wisdom was that Michigan was on the outside of the 68-team NCAA Tourney field. But after winning twice in Indy, including a win over the Hoosiers, the question now is whether the Wolverines have done enough? They’re just 3-4 in their last seven games with two of the wins coming against Northwestern. But Friday’s win certainly makes their cases much stronger.
TIP-INS
Wolverines: Irvin, Indiana’s 2013 Mr. Basketball, made his first 3 of the game, giving him 500 career 3-point attempts. He now has 503. … Coach John Beilein moved within three wins of tying Bill Frieder (191) for the second most wins in school history.
Hoosiers: Made four 3s, giving Indiana 316 this season. The Hoosiers need four to break the school record, which was set last season. … Ferrell played in his 134th career game, leaving him one short of Jordan Hulls’ school record (135). … Max Bielfeldt, the only player in league history to win championships with two different schools, had seven points and three rebounds against his former team. … Robert Johnson sat out again with a sprained left ankle.
UP NEXT
Wolverines: Face No. 13 Purdue in Saturday’s first semifinal game.
Hoosiers: Will await postseason tournament fate.