Michigan Basketball Handles Iowa, 79-57, Behind Big Second Half
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 3 Michigan Wolverines basketball hosted the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes and handled them by 22 points, 79-57.
The Wolverines came in as 5.5-point favorites coming in and held a 32-29 lead at halftime. A huge second half in which they outscored the Hawkeyes 47-28 led them to victory.
Here is a recap of how the game unfolded.
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First Half
Iowa senior big man Luka Garza missed his first two shots of the game, with Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson playing stellar defense. On the other end, U-M senior guard Eli Brooks hit a spot-up jumper from the free throw line to score the first points of the game, and Dickinson was found underneath on the next possession to give the Wolverines an early 4-0 lead.
At the 17:54 mark, Garza was called for a hook and hold flagrant foul, his first personal of the game, which sent Michigan sophomore wing Franz Wagner to the line. He made one of two free throws to give Michigan a 5-0 edge.
The Hawkeyes dug themselves out of an early hole, taking a 7-5 lead behind a three from redshirt sophomore guard CJ Fredrick. The score was 7-7 at the under-16 media timeout after a Michigan fifth-year senior forward Austin Davis put-back off a Wagner miss.
Michigan senior forward Isaiah Livers nailed a left wing three with just over 12 minutes to play in the half to give Michigan a 12-11 lead.
Right out of the under-12 media timeout, Iowa fifth-year senior guard Jordan Bohannon hit a two to put the Hawkeyes ahead 13-12.
Livers tied it up at 15-15 with another left wing triple with 10 to go.
It was all knotted up at 17-17 at the media timeout with 7:50 until the break. Iowa was 8-of-18, Michigan 7-of-21, shooting from the field. Livers' six points led all scorers, with Bohannon's five checking in next.
Michigan went on a quick 4-0 spurt after the timeout, with Dickinson finishing off the window over Garza and Wagner getting a transition layup the next time down.
Iowa came with an answer. Garza nailed a three from the top of the key, then Bohannon stepped into a triple the next time down, forcing a Juwan Howard timeout. The Hawkeyes held a 23-21 lead with 3:57 until halftime.
Michigan went on a 7-1 run after being down 25-23 to take a 30-26 lead, with a fifth-year senior Mike Smith two-point jumper putting the Wolverines up by four with 52 seconds to go.
After a Hawkeye bucket, Michigan was able to hold for last shot. Smith couldn't get his layup to go with just over a second before the buzzer rang, but Davis followed it up with the tap-in. Michigan led, 32-29, at the break.
In the first half, Iowa shot 41 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep, while Michigan hit 40 percent of its overall looks and 38 percent from long range.
Garza, a contender for National Player of the Year honors, was held to 3-of-11 shooting and seven points at halftime, despite averaging a nation-leading 24.7 points per game coming in. Dickinson had eight at the break on 4-of-6 shooting, three rebounds and one assist.
Second Half
Wagner got things going in the second half on Michigan's first possession driving right through the lane and finishing with a high release layup to make it 34-29. But a Fredrick three and Garza face-up jumper tied the game at 34-34 with 18 minutes to play.
A Wagner triple with 16:08 left gave the Wolverines their largest lead of the game, 43-37. Michigan then continued its hot offense, going up 48-39 after a Brooks three from the right corner. The Wolverines had hit six of their last seven shots at that point and Iowa hadn't scored in over three minutes.
Michigan held a 53-46 lead at the under-12 media timeout. The Wolverines hit nine of their first 16 shots since halftime, and Wagner had nine second-half points at that point and 17 for the game.
A Brooks layup and then a ferocious dunk by Livers in transition gave Michigan a 11-point lead, 57-46, with just under 10 minutes to play.
Smith then found Brown for a triple at 8:58 to make it a 7-0 run and extend the lead out to 60-46, the largest of the night.
Junior forward Brandon Johns hit a jumper from mid range to open it up to 62-46, which is where the score sat at the under-eight media timeout with 7:53 left. Dickinson, who was on the bench with three fouls, checked back in at that point, replacing Johns.
Wagner hit a layup and then Michigan got a stop with six and a half minutes to play. Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey wanted a call on that end and was slapped with a technical foul. Livers hit both free throws and gave Michigan a 68-50 lead.
Livers drained a three from the left wing with 4:25 remaining, and Michigan led by 17, 73-56. The Hawkeyes were shooting just 9-of-26 from the field in the second half, while Michigan hit 17 of its first 29 second-half looks and six of its last seven at that point.
Wagner got a runner to go with 1:08 remaining. After a stop on the other end, Michigan called timeout and emptied its bench.
The Wolverines outscored Iowa 47-28 in the second half to pull away and win comfortably, with the final score being 79-57. Wagner led all scorers with 21 points, while Livers chipped in 16 and Dickinson 14.
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