Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions against Iowa in Big Ten Tourney

After earning the double-bye, Michigan basketball will play Iowa tonight in the Big Ten quarterfinals and here are three predictions plus a breakdown.

After getting a bye past the first two rounds of the Big Ten tournament, Michigan basketball watched Thursday night as Iowa cruised past Illinois to set up a quarterfinal between the two teams in their second meeting this season.

The first matchup came in Iowa and it was one of the Wolverines worst offensive performances of the season. Michigan basketball scored just 59 points in the loss and shot just 33 percent from the field it what was truly an ugly performance.

Since then, Michigan has lost three other times. Iowa, on the other hand, just ended a three-game losing streak last night in Chicago. Before that, the Hawkeyes were fresh off an embarrassing loss to at Nebraska last Sunday, in which they blew a nine-point lead with 50 seconds left.

However, the Hawkeyes played well Thursday, beating Illinois by 21 points and knocking down 12 3-pointers in the process. Nicholas Baer actually came off the bench to make 5-of-6 from deep to score a team-high 17. Iowa also got double-figure efforts from Joe Wieskamp, who scored 13 and Tyler Cook, who scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.

With a 22-10 overall mark, as well as 10-10 record in the Big Ten, Iowa seems in solid position for the NCAA tournament, although a win over 10th-ranked Michigan wouldn’t hurt.

Either way, there is going to be a lot on the line for both teams tonight, when they meet inside the United Center in Chicago for a berth in the semifinals. Tip-off is set for approximately 9:25 PM EST on the Big Ten Network.