Thursday, the Wolverines have their last home game of the regular season when they take on Iowa for a second time. The Hawkeyes have won four straight and have not lost since their last matchup against Michigan basketball.Â
Iowa led by as many as 30 points in their matchup against Northwestern on Monday, despite the Wildcats making the first shot of the game. The Hawkeyes led by at least 20 points for all but 15 seconds in the second half.
Northwestern’s starting five only combined for 13 points against Iowa whereas their bench scored 48 points. The Wildcats simply could not get any shots off, allowing the Hawkeyes to have 13 more shot attempts.
In their previous matchup against the Wolverines, Iowa’s largest lead was four points whereas Michigan basketball led by as many as 12 points.
That being said, neither team could get their 3-point shooting going as the Wolverines only shot 20 percent from beyond the arc and the Hawkeyes shot 22.2 percent.
Freshman forward Moussa Diabate had a career-high 28 points in this matchup against Iowa, only missing three field goals and three free throws.
While Diabate has been unable to score even half as many points in a game for Michigan since that game, he has shown up in other areas on the court and remains a vital part of the team.
The Hawkeyes lead the conference in points per game with 83.7, compared to the Wolverines’ 73.2. Iowa has scored at least 70 points in every game in conference play except for a two-game stretch against Rutgers and Penn State.
Additionally, the Hawkeyes lead the conference in offensive rebounds with 12.2 per game and average 37 total rebounds per game. Michigan has allowed an average of 29.9 opponent rebounds per game and did not allow over this average in their recent matchups with the top two rebounding teams in the conference — Illinois and Purdue.
Iowa has an average turnover margin of 5.31, which is the best in the Big Ten, averaging only 8.9 turnovers a game while forcing 14.2. The Wolverines on the other hand have a turnover margin of -1.71 and average 11.7 turnovers a game. Graduate guard DeVante Jones and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson struggle the most with turnovers for Michigan basketball, so it is extremely important that they specifically are able to hold onto the ball against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa’s sophomore forward Keegan Murray is the main player the Wolverines need to look out for on Thursday. Murray averages 23.3 points per game and scored 23 in his previous game against Michigan. He leads the Hawkeyes in points per game, rebounds, and blocks, and is only behind senior guard Jordan Bohannon when it comes to 3-pointers made.
Bohannon shoots 88.2 percent from the line which can be a dangerous combination with the 71 3-point shots he has made this season. He has made at least one three in every game since he only scored two points in Iowa’s loss to Penn State — Bohannon’s lowest-scoring game of the season.
A final player the Wolverines should be cautious of is redshirt senior guard Connor McCaffery who had his best game of the season against Northwestern on Monday, scoring a season-high 17 points and playing a season-high 32 minutes.
This was only his third start for the Hawkeyes this season after starting every game for Iowa in his past two seasons with the team. In his last matchup against Michigan, McCaffery did not attempt a single shot.
The Wolverines are currently in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference. If Michigan Basketball is able to pull off a win against Iowa and Ohio State loses in their matchup with the Spartans, there will be a five-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten.
If Michigan Basketball is able to pull off this win against the Hawkeyes and their final game of the regular season against Ohio State, there is no doubt that their NCAA tournament hopes will be kept alive.
That being said, the Wolverines need to maintain the same momentum they did in their previous matchup with Michigan State if they want any chance at winning these final two games.