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Hosting Iowa for their Big Ten season-opener, No. 4 Michigan bounced back nicely from their first loss of the season at No. 1 Louisville by defeating the Hawkeyes by the score of 103-91.
The two teams traded blows early in the game, before the Wolverines ended the half with a 7-0 run to take a 50-38 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Iowa got within 78-71 but Michigan’s offense was too much as they pulled away again, improving to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes fall to 6-3 on the season.
Five takeaways from the Wolverines’ victory:
1. BACK TO (SHOOTING) FORM
Michigan had an ugly shooting night against Louisville, finishing at just 26 percent from the floor and 16 percent from three-point range. However, the Wolverines returned to form against Iowa, shooting 32-of-58 from the floor (55 percent) and 10-of-24 from deep (42 percent). It was a welcome sight, and a product of better ball movement and fluidity on offense than Michigan had against the Cardinals.
2. SHARING THE WEALTH
As mentioned above, the Wolverines’ ball movement was noticeably better on Friday night, leading to 21 assists on 32 made shots. As a result, Michigan was able to get several guys going offensively, finishing with an impressive six players scoring in double figures (Franz Wagner, Jon Teske, Zaver Simpson, Isaiah Livers, Eli Brook, Brandon Johns Jr.). The offensive outburst led to the Wolverines scoring their most points in a Big Ten game since 1998, when they scored 112 against Indiana.
3. BATTLE OF THE BIGS
Iowa center Luka Garza, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, had a career-high with 44 points and added 8 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes. Michigan had no answer defensively for the Iowa big man, and Wolverines center Jon Teske picked up four fouls trying to defend Garza. However, Michigan countered with the combined efforts of Teske (16 points, 5 rebounds), Brandon Johns Jr. (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Austin Davis (8 points, 3 rebounds). The Wolverines will need to tighten up their post defense moving forward, but it was good to see the response from Michigan’s big men on offense.
4. OWNING THE BOARDS
One area that Michigan appeared to struggle in early this season was rebounding, but the Wolverines have seemed to correct that as of late. Michigan held their own on the glass throughout the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament — out-rebounding their opponents by 10 over the course of three games — and that trend continued against the Hawkeyes. The Wolverines won the rebounding battle 38-30 over Iowa. It was a team effort to win on the glass, as five Michigan players finished with five rebounds or more.
5. YOUNG WOLVERINES BREAK OUT
A pair of young Wolverines had their best outings in maize and blue uniforms, as freshman Franz Wagner finished with a career-high 18 points to lead Michigan in scoring. He was aggressive throughout the game and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Brandon Johns Jr. also had a career game for the Wolverines, scoring 12 points (career-high) and adding 8 rebounds (tied career high). John Jr.’s minutes off the bench were vital with fellow sophomore Colin Castleton being limited due to a non-serious first half injury, and junior Isaiah Livers struggling with foul trouble.