The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team took down Iowa tonight in the Big Ten opener, 103-91.
Here's how the entire contest unfolded:
First Half
Junior guard Eli Brooks got the Wolverines on the board first tonight, nailing a corner three at 18:10 to give Michigan a 3-2 lead.
Junior forward Isaiah Livers then drained a triple at 17:28 to make it 8-6 U-M, and the fast pace the two clubs were playing at were a sign of things to come.
Iowa junior center Luka Garza got off to a hot start as well, converting an easy basket from under the hoop at 16:13 to give the Hawkeyes a 10-8 edge.
That's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout.
Senior point guard Zavier Simpson's signature hook shot in transition put his club up 14-12 with 14:32 to go in the half, even though Garza had 10 of Iowa's 12 points at that juncture.
Two points from the charity stripe for freshman guard Franz Wagner put Michigan up 18-13 at 13:18, and the edge was stretched to eight (21-13) with a three in transition from Simpson at 12:32.
A 6-0 Hawkeye run was ended when redshirt junior center Austin Davis connected on a layup under the hoop to give Michigan a 23-19 advantage with 10:52 to go in the half.
Wagner connected on two free throws to extend the lead 27-21 at 10:05, and the 6-8 freshman was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe at that point.
The Maize and Blue were up 31-23 at the under-8 timeout, and were shooting a hot 55 percent offensively. Wagner, meanwhile, led the club in scoring at that juncture with eight points.
Davis was called for his second foul on a controversial call with 5:44 remaining, giving both he and senior center Jon Teske two, and igniting the Crisler crowd in the process.
A corner triple from sophomore forward Brandon Johns at 5:26 to make it 38-29 only erupted the crowd more, and gave the Wolverines their biggest lead up to that point.
Johns' hot streak continued when he drained a corner three-pointer that put U-M up 43-33 with 3:46 left in the half.
Garza and the Hawkeyes quickly cut it to 43-38, though, with the junior center having scored 27 of Iowa's 38 points (71 percent).
Michigan closed out the half on a 7-0 run, capping it off with a three from Livers with just 38 seconds left, giving the Wolverines a 50-38 edge at the break.
The Maize and Blue shot a cool 55 percent for the half, including a 6-of-13 mark (46 percent) from behind the arc.
Second Half
U-M maintained its 12-point lead early in the second half when Teske converted an easy layup off a missed three from Wagner to make it 55-43 at 18:20.
Michigan jumped out to its biggest lead (60-47) when Brooks drained a triple from the top of the key at 16:06, and that's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout.
Iowa refused to go away, however, trimming it to 64-56 at 13:08.
Brooks quickly killed the Hawkeyes' momentum by connecting on a corner triple — his third of the game — to put his club up 67-56 with 12:50 to go.
The three parade continued when Wagner hit one at 12:17 to give Michigan a 70-59 lead (the team's ninth of the night), and Teske connected on a midrange jumper at 11:30 to stretch the advantage back to 13 (74-61).
Wagner made an impressive move to convert a driving layup to the hoop to make it 76-65 U-M after the Hawkeyes had cut the deficit to nine.
Iowa remained in striking distance at the under-8 timeout, though, only trailing 78-71.
With Teske on the bench with four fouls, redshirt junior center Austin Davis gave the club some good minutes by throwing down a two-handed slam at 6:50 to make it 82-71.
With the Hawkeyes still clinging to slim hopes, Simpson nailed a crucial three to push the edge to 88-76 with just 3:02 left in the contest.
Two Livers free throws extended the margin to 90-77 with 2:40 to go, and the Wolverines were sitting pretty, despite Garza's 40 points at that juncture.
Garza picked up his 43rd and 44th points on a putback off the glass with 1:47 left to trim Michigan's advantage to 95-83 lead, but it was too little, too late.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey chose to keep fouling, and Simpson converted both of his free throw attempts with 1:29 left to put the game further out of reach, making it 98-83.
A massive alley-oop from sophomore guard David DeJulius to Wagner in transition brought the roof off the building with 1:06 left, putting the Maize and Blue up 101-87.
They held on for a 103-91 win, shooting 55 percent for the game and seeing six different Wolverine players score in double figures.
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