ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Entering the week, there were questions about how the No. 3 Michigan basketball team would hold up against two top-10 opponents and two of the nation's three best offenses in the country.
They answered a number of questions in a win at No. 4 Ohio State Sunday. By Thursday night, there weren't many more questions.
Holding National Player of the Year frontrunner Luka Garza to one of his worst games in years, stifling Iowa's 3-point opportunities and coming alive on offense in the second half, Michigan continued what has been a special season, pulling away from the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes in a 79-57 win.
The win moves the Wolverines (12-1 Big Ten, 17-1 overall) to within two wins of a Big Ten title. Should a couple other games fall in Michigan's favor, the Wolverines could clinch their first Big Ten regular-season title since 2014 as soon as Saturday.
Franz Wagner scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half, while Isaiah Livers and Hunter Dickinson respectively added 16 and 14 points. Luke Garza — who entered the game leading the nation with 24.7 points per game — scored 16 points, and shot just 6-for-19 from the field. The Hawkeyes entered the night 13th in the country with 10.2 3s per game and fourth nationally with a 40.4 shooting percentage, but made just 6 of 19 3s in the contest, including 2 of 9 in the second half.
While the game should be noted for Michigan's defensive effort, the Wolverines outscored Iowa, 47-28 in the second half, making 19 of 35 shots after beginning the game just 9 for 29 from the field.
From the opening tipoff, the game stuffed with the intensity you'd hope for from a top-10 matchup. Luka Garza and Hunter Dickinson took seconds to begin bodying each other up, both teams drove to the lane instead of shooting 3s and even their benches were vocal from the jump. Perhaps ironic to the offensive firepower on both teams, though, the game was ugly. Iowa missed its first five shots, while the Wolverines missed six of their first eight. Five minutes in, the game was knotted at seven.
While the scoring technically picked up, neither team seemed remotely comfortable with their play on the offensive end. Michigan struggled with shot selection, and was inconsistent as it cycled in a bevy of bench players to minimize foul trouble. Even typically normal tasks, like put-back layups and avoiding press defenses and delay-of-game violations, were laborious at times for the Wolverines against a hungry Hawkeyes defense. Michigan opened the game just 9-for-29 shooting, including a 2-for-9 mark from 3-point range.
Iowa, meanwhile, saw both of its main methods of scoring stymied by the Wolverines' defense. Luka Garza, who scored a combined 77 points against Michigan in two meetings last season, was contested on nearly every shot. He put the Wolverines in foul trouble, but also struggled against the added pressure. He finished the half with just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting. Iowa also entered the game ranked 13th nationally with 10.2 3-pointers per game, but was held to four in the opening half.
In the end, it was a close half that saw neither team's lead go beyond Michigan's 5-0 lead early on. The Wolverines did, however, close the half with a 5-for-6 shooting stretch, including a tip-in from Austin Davis at the buzzer to give Michigan a 32-29 lead.
After an exhausting half for both teams, Michigan came to life in the second half. It began with Franz Wagner, who scored nine points in the half's opening five minutes. But then, as Garza's frustration mounted and the Wolverines' shooting picked up — they made 19 of 35 shots in the second half and 5 of 9 3s — Michigan began to pull away.
Perhaps the biggest sign that it was the Wolverines' night came during a 12-3 stretch early in the second half. After Dickinson was subbed out with his third foul with 17:30 to go in the game, Davis played possibly his best stretch in a Michigan uniform. Though Garza had the edge in size, experience and skill, Davis held his own on the defensive end and even scored another layup of his own. In the meantime, Wagner's hot streak helped Michigan turn what was a 36-36 tie when Davis entered to a 48-39 lead when he checked out.
From there, Michigan had smelled blood. Pushing the tempo and working the ball around, the Wolverines scored 1.30 points per possession, including 13 from Wagner and 10 from Livers. Every time Michigan seemed to hit a lull, a different player would step up for the Wolverines.
It has become a common theme for the Wolverines this season, but against a top-10 opponent in a physical game, it was all the more indicative of what Michigan can accomplish this season.
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