Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wolverines win over Iowa
There were some tense moments, but Michigan basketball notched an impressive road win at Iowa Tuesday. Here are three takeaways for UM.
Beating Iowa has been a tall task for Michigan basketball lately. The Wolverines had lost five in a row to the Hawkeyes, that was until Tuesday night in Iowa City, when UM escaped with a 75-68 win.
Michigan started slowly on offense, but used a big run in the first half to build a double-digit lead. The score was 15-12 in favor of the Wolverines, when UM went on a 12-2 run. That run included two 3-pointers by Zavier Simpson, as well as a triple from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman.
At halftime, Michigan basketball led 48-36. And early in the second, Iowa quickly trimmed the lead to single digits, before a trey by Isaiah Livers pushed it back to 55-43. A dunk by Charles Matthews and a layup by MAAR put the Wolverines in front by 14.
U-M comes away with the first W of 2018 behind 4 players in double-figures including Simpson and Abdur-Rahkman leading the team with 15 points apiece.
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) January 3, 2018
U-M returns to action at home on Saturday against Illinois at noon#GoBlue 〽️ pic.twitter.com/yA5r2OBvpo
With less than eight minutes to go, the Hawkeyes got within eight again. But as they did all night, Simpson and MAAR had the answer. Simpson scored on a scoop shot that extended the lead to 10. Then, MAAR made two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup, which gave the Wolverines a 71-54 advantage.
The Wolverines had four that finished in double figures as MAAR and Simpson both scored 15, while Matthews contributed with 14 and Livers added 13. Moe Wagner finished with four points and four rebounds. Jon Teske came off the bench to score six points and grab seven boards.
Michigan basketball is now 13-3 on the season overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Here are three takeaways from the Wolverines win.