Michigan's comeback falls short, Wolverines lose to Illinois, 93-85

Michigan Wolverines basketball fell to 15-12 overall and 9-8 in the Big Ten with a 93-85 loss to Illinois Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center.

The Maize and Blue trailed by 15 points midway through the second half but rallied to cut the deficit to two points. Ultimately, though, Illinois executed better down the stretch and survived with the win.

Here is a recap of how the game unfolded.

RELATED

• Wolverine TV podcast with Ant Wright: Freshmen stepping up, Illinois preview, Big Ten power rankings

First Half

Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn was the first one on the board with a layup, but Michigan freshman wing Caleb Houstan answered with a bunny of his own on the next possession, with the assist to fifth-year senior guard DeVante’ Jones. Illinois fifth-year senior guard Trent Frazier nailed a triple the next time down to give the Illini a 5-2 edge at the 18:49 mark.

Illinois led 7-6, before fifth-year senior guard Alfonso Plummer hit a contested three-pointer from the corner to bring the edge out to 10-6 at the 17:02 mark. Michigan fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks cut it to two with a jumper, before Jones got a steal and was fouled going up, making both free throws to tie it at 10-10 with just over 16 minutes before halftime.

Michigan was getting to the line early. The Wolverines knocked down five of their six attempts from the charity stripe to make up for a 3-for-8 shooting start from the field and Illinois going 5-of-8 with two hits from beyond the arc. One free throw from sophomore center Hunter Dickinson made it 12-11 at the 15:17 mark.

The Wolverines went on a scoring drought, and Illinois took advantage. Plummer continued to stay hot, with two more made threes and another good jump shot from inside the arc. The Illini led, 20-14, with 12:53 to play in the half. Plummer had 11 of Illinois’ 20 points at that juncture.

Michigan roared back on a 4-0 run behind a jumper from Brooks and a tap in from Jones, but Plummer answered with another corner three-pointer, his fourth of the game. The Illini held a 23-18 edge at the media timeout with 11:17 to go.

Michigan went another two-plus minutes without scoring and turned it over on two straight possessions, when Illinois sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins hit a three with Dickinson in his face and Frazier connected on a triple the next trip down to open a 31-20 lead at the 8:36 mark. Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli called a timeout to regroup.

Illinois was bringing a lot of help in the post, and Michigan swung it around the perimeter before Houstan capitalized with a three-pointer from the left wing to cut the deficit to 31-23. Illinois sophomore guard Andre Curbelo turned it over on the other end, giving the ball back to the Maize and Blue out of the media timeout at 7:48. Houstan hit a pull-up jumper out of the timeout to bring it to 31-25.

Plummer’s fifth three of the game came in transition at the 5:35 mark, after Michigan senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. was shoved down going for the rebound but didn’t get the call. The shot gave the Illini a 38-27 lead. The advantage grew to 12 — the largest of the afternoon at that point — with 5:06 remaining.

The Wolverines battled back on a 4-0 run fueled by a Dickinson hook shot and a layup by Houstan in transition. The score was 40-32 with 3:39 remaining in the half, and 42-24 at the under-four media timeout with 1:58 left.

The two teams went back and forth down the end-of-the-half stretch, and Illinois led 46-38 at the break. The Illini shot 49 percent to Michigan’s 47 percent, but the difference was Plummer’s 23 points and five made threes. Houstan was Michigan’s lone player in double figures scoring, with 11 points.

Second Half

Michigan started the half with a turnover, before Cockburn scored four straight points to extend Illinois’ lead to 12 — 50-38 — at the 18:52 mark. He got in deep and was fouled but missed two free throws on the next trip down, then answered a Michigan bucket with a two of his own to make it 52-40 with 17:51 to play.

Dickinson finally got some offense going, nailing a pick-and-pop three-pointer from the top of the key and then finishing a dunk on the next possession to bring Michigan within seven points, 54-47, at the 16:35 mark. That was also the score at the media timeout at 15:11.

Jones fouled Frazier while he was shooting a three at the 12:54 mark. The shot went down but he missed the free throw, extending the Illinois lead back out to 12 points, 63-51. The Illini grabbed the offensive rebound on the missed foul shot, and Cockburn wound up with a dunk on the possession, making it 64-51.

Curbelo made a driving layup at 11:39 to make it 66-53, Illinois. At that point, the Illini had made nine of their 11 field goals, while Michigan was 7-for-13 from the field.

Michigan freshman forward Moussa Diabate stepped up midway through the second half. He finished through contact and made the free throw on an and-one, then made a hook shot moments later to trim the Illinois lead to 74-64 at the 8:07 mark. Martelli called a timeout following the bucket.

Jones was fouled shooting a three and made all three foul shots at the 7:12 mark, cutting the lead to 76-68. The Michigan crowd got on its feet, and the Houstan notched a steal. Jones nailed a triple at the top of the key on the ensuing possession, making it 76-71 Illinois with 6:30 to go. Illini head man Brad Underwood called a timeout.

Curbelo and then Frazier got free for layups on back-to-back trips, though, and Illinois pulled away for the time being, leading by nine points with just over five minutes remaining.

Houstan made a sweeping layup at the 4:33 mark, then Michigan got a stop and Jones hit a layup in transition to make it 81-75. With 3:30 remaining, Cockburn traveled in the post to turn it back over to Michigan, which went into the media timeout with momentum. At that juncture in the shootout, Illinois had made 10 of its last 12 shots, while the Wolverines had connected on four of their last five attempts from the field.

Out of the timeout, Jones was fouled driving down the lane and made both free throws to cut the Michigan deficit to four points, 81-77 with just over three minutes to play.

With 2:02 left, Houstan hit a triple in semi-transition to bring the house down and make it a two-point game. The Illini led Michigan, 82-80 at that point. On the Illinois play following the timeout, Cockburn made a tough hook shot with 1:46 to go to quiet the crowd. Underwood requested a timeout as his team led Michigan, 84-40.

Michigan came up empty on its next possession, with Houstan missing, before an offensive rebound by Hawkins proved crucial. Frazier took the shot clock down and hit a dagger pull-up three from the right wing to make it 87-80 at the 45-second mark.

Houstan was fouled shooting a triple and made all three free throws to cut it to 89-83 with 27 seconds left. Illinois broke Michigan’s pressure defense and wound up with a lob and dunk for Cockburn. Jones answered with a layup on the other end to make it 91-85 with 15.9 seconds remaining.

The Wolverines began fouling, and Frazier made two free throws before getting a steal to seal the win.

Cockburn led all scorers with 27 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Plummer wound up with 26 points after going off for 23 in the first half. Jones (25 points) and Houstan (21) each had over 20 points for Michigan, but the defense, which yielded 57 percent shooting, failed the Wolverines.