Michigan Basketball Instant Recap: U-M Handles Iowa, 74-59
Michigan fell behind by a touchdown early to Iowa, and head coach John Beilein didn’t hesitate to make substitutions. Grad transfer Jaaron Simmons replaced sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson after Simpson turned it over twice early, leading to a 7-0 Hawkeyes lead, but Michigan rallied for a 74-59 win.
U-M chipped away at the early deficit immediately. Freshman forward Isaiah Livers, back in the starting lineup after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, hit a tiple from the corner, and Simmons one from the top to bring U-M back.
Sophomore Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman gave Michigan the lead with a steal on an inbound following a Moe Wagner make, making it 12-11. Wagner got them back over the hump with a triple to make it 17-14, where it stood at the second TV timeout.
Simmons continued to give the Wolverines a spark. His steal and finish gave U-M a 19-14 lead, and Michigan expanded it to 24-18 on a triple in transition by Robinson. It was 29-20 when Robinson hit another one at 7:30.
The Wolverines were up 32-22 at the 3:58 mark despite a 1-for-9 showing from redshirt sophomore wing Charles Matthews. Robinson hit another triple (he was 3-of-5 in the half) and U-M was able to take a 37-24 lead into the break.
Wagner led Michigan with 10 points in the half, Robinson added nine and Simmons five. U-M notched 10 assists on 19 made baskets and led by 14 despite shooting only 36.8 percent to Iowa’s 42.3, in part due to forcing 12 turnovers.
SECOND HALF
Michigan and Iowa continued to trade buckets in the early going, U-M missing a number of chances to open the lead. The Hawkeyes got it back to nine, 45-36, with Matthews continuing to struggle. He was 2-for-12 from the floor before being replaced at 13:13.
Abdur-Rahkman hit a big triple at 12:35 after the Hawkeyes cut it to eight, but Luka Garza (16 points at the 12-minute mark) kept hitting jumpers to keep Iowa within striking distance. The Wolverines made only four of their first nine shots in the half and took a 49-40 lead into the second TV timeout.
Robinson gave the Wolverines a bit of breathing room with a long three, but they left Garza alone on the baseline for yet another jumper to answer.
That's when Robinson hit fire mode. He answered at the other end with yet another NBA triple and his third straight, this one from 25 feet following an Iowa turnover, made it 58-42 and forced an Iowa timeout at 9:59.
It was 63-47 after a sophomore Jon Teske offensive rebound that set up an Abdur-Rahkman triple at 6:40.
Iowa chipped away, but couldn't come back. Matthews missed a pair of free throws and the Hawkeyes responded with a score inside. Matthews’ dunk, though, pushed it to 68-53, and U-M sat on the lead. Teske scored inside with 2:07 remaining to add the exclamation point.
Abdur-Rahkman and Robinson both scored 18 for the Wolverines. U-M finished with 19 assists on 28 field goal and improved to 10-5 in Big Ten play.
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