Michigan Basketball: Coasting to a comfortable victory over goliath-lead Hawkeyes

For the second time in under a week, Michigan basketball took down another top 10 team to keep building its resume as arguably the best team in the land.

Michigan basketball used a strong second-half effort to lay waste to a lauded Iowa squad. The Wolverines nearly put up 50 after the break to cruise to a rather easy win that many didn’t see coming following a nip and tuck first half of play. They went on a run to balloon the lead to double digits and the Hawkeyes never recovered from the onslaught.

The main storyline going into the night was the confrontation between Luka Garza and Hunter Dickinson. Last season Garza had field days against Michigan by scoring a combined 77 points in two affairs with the Wolverines. He entered this one by averaging 25 a contest and is being considered as the national player of the year.

Garza did not have a similar outing to what he did in last year’s matchup at Crisler largely thanks to the aforementioned Dickinson. He was held to a mild 16 points, while his teammates could only muster 57, well below their season average. That’s a sizable statement made to the rest of the nation by Dickinson and his running mates.

This outcome is just another feather in the cap of why Michigan is a complete package together. They didn’t fall off the face of the earth when they were forced to take a long, unexpected covid break. These last three wins prove that they managed their time wisely and they are reaping the rewards when the buzzer hits zero on the scoreboards.

The big three of Dickinson, Livers and Wagner are getting a ton of recognition for carrying this unit to where they currently stand, but it’s not just them.

Mike Smith has been a general since the day he stepped onto the court for Michigan. Everyone knew replacing Zavier Simpson was going to be a burden of concern for the staff, but Smith has put all those doubts to sleep with the way he excels on the hardwood night in and night out.

Smith, along with Chaundee Brown and Austin Davis are not afterthoughts in this offense either. All three do their respective parts when called upon. Brown is Michigan’s best defender, while Davis can start and flourish for a bunch of clubs all over the landscape of college basketball just as they mentioned during the broadcast.

With the revised schedule now in effect, the maize and blue have a one-day layoff before road-tripping to Bloomington on Saturday. The Hoosiers are in desperate need of a win over the Wolverines, so Michigan has to be on high alert to not let their guard down when facing such a hungry foe in their arena.