Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers in Ann Arbor To Begin Second Half of B1G Play
2/2/2016 12:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Max Bielfeldt knows Michigan. But today will be different.
The fifth-year Wolverine transfer used to call the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor home. Tonight, he'll dress in the visiting locker room, sit on the opposing bench and play under a different allegiance just as he would in any other opponent's gym.
Bielfeldt has expressed nothing but appreciation for his undergraduate playing career as a Wolverine since transferring to Indiana over the summer but has made it clear his mind is with the Hoosiers.
Though the road trip brings back fond memories, he and his teammates aren't as interested in reminiscing as they are holding their place atop the Big Ten standings.
"I couldn't be more grateful for my time at Michigan," Bielfeldt said. "Completing my degree in sports management, the friendships and my experiences on and off the court are something I will always be appreciative of. At IU, I will earn a master's degree from the Kelley School of Business and the transition for me as a basketball player has been better than anything I could have imagined."
The Michigan team Bielfeldt returns to play against isn't quite the one he left.
The Wolverines (17-5, 7-2) have reconstructed themselves after reigning team MVP Spike Albrecht announced he was stepping away from the game in the second week of December. They're fourth in the conference in scoring defense and fifth in scoring offense behind a group of shooters who have had success spreading the floor and pushing the tempo during their four-game winning streak, the longest such current streak in the Big Ten.
"Michigan is extremely talented and explosive," head coach Tom Crean said. "You have to be in a mindset of never relaxing in any way when your man has the ball, but especially when they drive. They get great spacing, cutting and ball movement."
A game after senior guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell openly criticized his own team's transition defense against Minnesota, the Hoosiers (18-4, 8-1) once again expect to be tested in open space by Derrick Walton Jr. The junior guard has shouldered an even larger role in the weeks since Caris LeVert, the Wolverines' leading scorer, began missing time with an injury.
"We need to be really good with our transition defense," Crean said. "They really push the ball and Derek Walton gets it up the court as well as anyone we have faced."
The 9 p.m. tip is Indiana's first game of the back nine portion of its Big Ten schedule. Six of the Hoosiers' remaining nine games will be against teams in the top six of the conference standings entering the latter half of play.
Just four games separate the top nine in the standings and only 2.5 separate the top seven.
Crean said after IU's win against Minnesota that he wasn't caught up to date with the standings but could probably figure it out if he wanted to. At this point in the season, he said it doesn't concern him.
Regardless, each win and loss will only feed into the fluctuating standings as the closing stretch begins.
"Ann Arbor, man, that's definitely a hard place to win," Ferrell said. "I know Max wants this more than anybody on the team. Even for myself as a senior, this is our last time playing in Ann Arbor, so we definitely want to go out there with a W."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Max Bielfeldt knows Michigan. But today will be different.
The fifth-year Wolverine transfer used to call the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor home. Tonight, he'll dress in the visiting locker room, sit on the opposing bench and play under a different allegiance just as he would in any other opponent's gym.
Bielfeldt has expressed nothing but appreciation for his undergraduate playing career as a Wolverine since transferring to Indiana over the summer but has made it clear his mind is with the Hoosiers.
Though the road trip brings back fond memories, he and his teammates aren't as interested in reminiscing as they are holding their place atop the Big Ten standings.
"I couldn't be more grateful for my time at Michigan," Bielfeldt said. "Completing my degree in sports management, the friendships and my experiences on and off the court are something I will always be appreciative of. At IU, I will earn a master's degree from the Kelley School of Business and the transition for me as a basketball player has been better than anything I could have imagined."
The Michigan team Bielfeldt returns to play against isn't quite the one he left.
The Wolverines (17-5, 7-2) have reconstructed themselves after reigning team MVP Spike Albrecht announced he was stepping away from the game in the second week of December. They're fourth in the conference in scoring defense and fifth in scoring offense behind a group of shooters who have had success spreading the floor and pushing the tempo during their four-game winning streak, the longest such current streak in the Big Ten.
"Michigan is extremely talented and explosive," head coach Tom Crean said. "You have to be in a mindset of never relaxing in any way when your man has the ball, but especially when they drive. They get great spacing, cutting and ball movement."
A game after senior guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell openly criticized his own team's transition defense against Minnesota, the Hoosiers (18-4, 8-1) once again expect to be tested in open space by Derrick Walton Jr. The junior guard has shouldered an even larger role in the weeks since Caris LeVert, the Wolverines' leading scorer, began missing time with an injury.
"We need to be really good with our transition defense," Crean said. "They really push the ball and Derek Walton gets it up the court as well as anyone we have faced."
The 9 p.m. tip is Indiana's first game of the back nine portion of its Big Ten schedule. Six of the Hoosiers' remaining nine games will be against teams in the top six of the conference standings entering the latter half of play.
Just four games separate the top nine in the standings and only 2.5 separate the top seven.
Crean said after IU's win against Minnesota that he wasn't caught up to date with the standings but could probably figure it out if he wanted to. At this point in the season, he said it doesn't concern him.
Regardless, each win and loss will only feed into the fluctuating standings as the closing stretch begins.
"Ann Arbor, man, that's definitely a hard place to win," Ferrell said. "I know Max wants this more than anybody on the team. Even for myself as a senior, this is our last time playing in Ann Arbor, so we definitely want to go out there with a W."
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