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Winning ugly is one of the most beautiful things in sports, as long as your team gets the victory.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 B1G) came back from 11 down to nip Michigan (14-11, 8-6 B1G), 62-61, at Crisler Center, in Ann Arbor. Trayce Jackson-Davis once again paced Indiana with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jalen Hood-Schifino also excelled for IU with 21 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Indiana’s ninth Big Ten win equaled its total from the 2021-22 regular season. IU now has five Quad-I wins. On the other side, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament chances took a large hit with the loss.

Prior to the game, Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers learned that Race Thompson would miss Saturday’s game. Per IU, Thompson was held out for precautionary reasons. Jordan Geronimo would start in his place against the Wolverines.

Unlike IU’s starts against Purdue and Rutgers, this one began inauspiciously. The Hoosiers scored the first four, but Michigan’s offense engaged instantly thereafter. The Wolverines went on a 13-2 run to take a 13-6 lead, punctuated by a three-pointer from star big man Hunter Dickinson.

Dickinson also recorded two blocks on Jackson-Davis in the early going before exiting the game with his second foul at the 12:08 mark. Hood-Schifino also committed two early fouls for IU, so both teams needed to ask something out of their depth.

IU’s complementary players struggled to contribute all game. Meanwhile, Dug McDaniel and Tarris Reed added to the home team’s lead with buckets in the middle of the first half.

Woodson’s hand was forced; he had to put Hood-Schifino back in to the contest. The young point guard made the decision worth it. After two Kobe Bufkin buckets gave Michigan an 11-point lead, Hood-Schifino went on a personal 8-0 scoring run of his own to change the game at the end of the first half.

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There was no flashiness to Hood-Schifino’s game on Saturday. He’s capable of wowing audiences with spectacular passes and acrobatic layups, but against Michigan, he scored on a consistent diet of jump shots and drives to the rim. His final basket of the first half trimmed IU’s deficit to five.

Then, Jackson-Davis showed his All-American prowess. He already had 12 points, but back-to-back scores just before halftime brought the Hoosiers to within four points. He even had a chance for another basket or two before the intermission, but the rim treated him unfairly.

After halftime, IU grabbed its first lead in over 20 minutes on a TJD basket and the foul with 16:34 to go. As is the case in Big Ten matchups, Michigan responded with a run of their own to go up by seven.

At that point, it felt like Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino chose to put the team on their back. The Hoosiers were going to win or lose based on how those two players performed.

TJD his a layup to cut the deficit to five. Hood-Schifino made two free throws to bring IU to within three. Reed and Dickinson made back-to-back shots to push the lead to seven. Then, the Hoosier defense locked down their opponents.