Michigan Basketball: 3 Things we learned from domination of Iowa

Michigan basketball didn’t just beat Iowa, the Wolverines destroyed them, especially in the second half and here’s what we learned from it. 

It’s getting hard to find words to describe how well Michigan basketball is playing right now but after another impressive win over a top-10 opponent, we’re certainly going to try.

But from a Michigan basketball perspective, this game played out exactly as the Wolverines would have wanted it to. The offense was a little sluggish in the first half.

Yet, as the Wolverines have all year in Big Ten play, they exploded in the second half and averaged 1.3 points per possession as they took a close game and blew it wide open, winning 79-57 after being up only three at the break.

Isaiah Livers said it all during his Zoom press conference last night, using these simple words to describe Michigan goals: “We want it all.”

And with the way Michigan is playing, everything is there for the taking. The Big Ten title now seems like just a formality, although there is still work to do with Indiana, Illinois and two games against a red-hot Michigan State which just beat Illinois and Ohio State in back-to-back games.

But let’s take one last look at what we learned against Iowa before looking ahead.

The defenses wowed against Iowa

Head coach Juwan Howard apparently was not happy with the way Michigan defended against Ohio State. He ripped his team and they responded with their best defensive effort of the season.

Iowa came in with the best offense in the country in terms of points per possession with an average of 1.20 and last night, the Hawkeyes couldn’t hit 1.0 in either half of play and finished the game at 0.87.

Iowa boasts Luka Garza, who could be National Player of the Year and he was completely stalemated by Hunter Dickinson. The Hawkeyes shot just 31 percent from the 3-point range and didn’t score 30 in either half.

The Hawkeyes have scored less than 70 points only twice this season before Thursday and never less than 60.

It was just a dominant performance and showed how far Dickinson has come on both ends of the floor. But it wasn’t just about him. It worked because Michigan is able to guard people one-on-one.

Franz Wagner is as good a defender as there is in the Big Ten. But Isaiah Livers, Eli Brooks and Mike Smith, as well as Chaundee Brown and even Austin Davis have all made big contributions on that end too.

The amazing thing is how this coaching staff has taken guys that weren’t great defenders such as Dickinson and Davis and helped them become really solid. That growth has been impressive to watch and it’s a huge reason this team is about to win its first Big Ten title since 2014.