On Sunday afternoon, Michigan recorded its first Big Ten win of the season with a 90-80 defeat of the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Michigan had six players finish with at least 10 points in what was a promising performance from a team that had lost five of its last six games.

Here are three takeaways from Michigan's first Big Ten win.

After he struggled mightily in the past few games, sophomore forward Tarris Reed Jr. had his best performance in a Michigan uniform on Sunday afternoon. Reed cleared his former career-high of 11 points by a significant margin, as he totaled 19 in the first road Big Ten game of the season.

Not only did Reed dominate on the offensive end of the floor, but he also caused issues for the Iowa offense with three blocks.

Surprisingly, Reed, just a 36% free throw shooter, shot 5-7 from the charity stripe in the win over the Hawkeyes. Michigan's success in 2023-24 almost directly correlates with how Reed performs, and it showed on Sunday afternoon.

In the team's three most recent losses, Reed averaged just 3.0 points per game. But on Sunday — Michigan's first win in 17 days — Reed notched a career-high as he led the Wolverines to the win.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, and Michigan led by just two at halftime. It appeared the Wolverines would be in for another down-to-the-wire finish — a situation Michigan has been particularly poor in during the Juwan Howard era — but a shocking second-half surge prevented that opportunity from presenting itself.

Iowa scored the first four points of the second half, but Michigan went on an ensuing 27-5 run to essentially put the Hawkeyes away before the halfway mark in the second half.

The massive momentum swing was highlighted by an exceptional alley-oop from Dug McDaniel to Olivier Nkamhoua. A few moments later, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was assessed back-to-back technical fouls.

McCaffery's ejection lit a momentary spark in the Carver Hawkeye Arena crowd, but Michigan's previously established momentum was too much for the Hawkeyes to overcome.

It was undoubtedly one of the best halves of the season for the Wolverines — one that compares to some of the great, high-scoring halves Michigan played early on this season.

Perhaps the 52-point second half will help Michigan begin to stack wins at it nears the end of the calendar year.

Earlier this season — when Michigan was consistently scoring 80-plus points per game — scoring balance was one of the biggest catalysts in leading the Wolverines to the hot start. Multiple players were consistently scoring in double figures every night, and it became tough for opposing defenses to guard the balanced Wolverines.

Starting in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Michigan veered slightly away from its balanced scoring attack. Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua carried much of the offensive workload in recent games, but on Sunday, when McDaniel and Nkamhoua both went scoreless in the first half, Michigan had contributions from numerous other players.

McDaniel and Nkamhoua picked things up in the second half — and they both finished in double figures — but Michigan had four other players with at least 10 points as it reverted back to its successful style of offense that won it games early on in the season.

Tray Jackson also added eight points, as Michigan came a bucket away from having seven players in double figures.

If Michigan can continue to get consisted output from its role players, the Wolverines will be much more comfortable in tight conference games.

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