The primary matchup most were talking about heading into tonight’s Michigan Wolverines basketball game was Iowa Hawkeye senior center Luka Garza versus U-M freshman center Hunter Dickinson.
Dickinson more than held his own against the 6-11 big man, holding Garza to 16 points and four rebounds … on 6-of-19 shooting. Garza had been averaging 24.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest entering the evening.
“[Assistant] Coach Jaaron [Simmons] did a good job with the scout,” Dickinson revealed after Michigan’s 79-57 win at Crisler Center. “He does the hard work. Every game is a big game in the Big Ten and I knew I’d have a tough matchup on my hands.
“I did the best I could to take on the one-on-one challenge. Garza will likely be the player of the year in the Big Ten and in the country, so I just did my best to hold my own against him.
“It was determination and competitiveness — I strive to be one of the most competitive players. I get that from my teammates — they’re the fiercest of competitors.”
One of the primary reasons Michigan has been so successful this season is due to the balance it possesses, and that was on full display once again tonight. Sophomore guard Franz Wagner finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, though senior forward Isaiah Livers compiled 16 points and Dickinson 14, while senior guards Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown each chipped in seven.
The 21-point outburst was Wagner’s highest-scoring game of the year, with the 6-9 guard hitting nine of his 12 shots.
“I just try to stay aggressive,” he explained in the postgame. “Coach [Juwan Howard] ran a couple plays for me and that provided confidence. I try to read the game and be aggressive, and do what I work on every day.”
Wagner was the catalyst during a Michigan second half run that saw the Wolverines outscore the Hawkeyes 47-28 during the game’s final 20 minutes. The sophomore scored 13 of his points and connected on six of his seven shots after the intermission, helping U-M blow the game wide open.
“Franz came out of nowhere and nobody wanted to stop him,” Livers exclaimed in the postgame presser. “When he sees a gap, he’ll drive it and can easily wrap around and has great touch.
“Franz set the tone on both offense and defense. He led us in those first four minutes [of the second half]. We followed the hot hand and he did a great job tonight. When Franz is aggressive and locked in, we’re the best team in the country.
“We have two-way players on this team — that’s what Coach Howard talked about when he first got here. We focus on the defensive end and the offense will come for us.”
Livers’ sentiment about focusing in on the defensive end couldn’t have rang more true, with the Wolverines limiting Iowa to just 36 percent shooting from the field. A Hawkeye squad who averaged 86.4 points on the year was held to just 57 tonight, thanks in large part to the collective defensive effort the Maize and Blue turned in as a team.
“I think they’re the best offensive team in our conference,” Wagner admitted after the win. “We locked in on their shooters though and stay attached, and our scout team did a good job of preparing us.
“It’s fun playing a team like them and we did a great job tonight. We get better throughout the course of games and that’s [the second half] when we make our runs. You have to leave it all out there and live with the results.”
Playing team basketball is what helped Michigan pick up a big win against a top 10 Iowa club, just as it has helped the Wolverines all year. The Maize and Blue now sit at 17-1 overall and 12-1 in league play, and are closing in on their first Big Ten regular-season title since the 2014 campaign.
Why? It is, again, thanks in large part to the team basketball Howard’s crew consistently plays.
“Guys [on other teams] will sometimes look at stats after games, but we don’t have that here — we just want to win,” Livers exclaimed. “Everyone has bought into the Michigan culture and we don’t talk to outsiders.
“They’ll get in your ear and tell you to be more aggressive, but I don’t have that in my corner — I have guys in my ear who want to win. You’ll raise banners when you have guys like that.”
Raising a Big Ten championship banner is precisely what Michigan is on the verge of doing.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
