Badly in need of a strong performance to reverse the recent slide in momentum, Michigan Men's Basketball got just what the doctor ordered this afternoon in Carver Hawkeye Arena, a solid 40 minutes for a double digit B1G win against a decent Iowa team. A back-and-forth first half gave way to a 25-5 Michigan run that put them in firm control of the second half, control that was never relinquished. Tarris Reed Jr. played arguably his best game at Michigan, Dug McDaniel overcame a dreadful opening stanza to play a strong second half and Michigan got a comfortable- and much needed- win. 

We came in expecting a high scoring affair between a Michigan team that has struggled mightily on defense this season against an Iowa team that is always porous on that end, but the first half wasn't much of that. The first few minutes were especially ugly offensively, as it took 1:57 for either team to score (a pull-up jumper from Tony Perkins). Patrick McCaffery was the hottest player out of the gate for either team, scoring five of Iowa's first seven and the only player to execute on his shots. Iowa led 9-5, but Michigan finally got one player to come on-line offensively and surprisingly, it was Tarris Reed Jr. Reed got it going fighting for loose balls underneath and finishing up-and-under, but as the perimeter players scuffled, Michigan kept feeding Tarris.

Poor first halves from Dug McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, and Olivier Nkamhoua were mitigated by Reed, as well as Terrance Williams II. TWill hit a pair of threes, including one that put Michigan up 16-13, and Reed continued to be the main source of offense. He had 12 of Michigan's 24 when the Wolverines led 24-21 and Reed added a pair of blocks as well. The defensive effort from Michigan was solid, holding Iowa to 0.94 PPP in the first half, while their offense was mostly doing what it could with only a few players working. McDaniel did not score in the first half and was autobenched after picking up his second foul with 3:14 to go in the first half. Michigan opted to roll with an unusual Burnett, Jackson, Tschetter, Williams, and Nkamhoua lineup when Dug went to the bench. The offense was predictably stagnant with that lineup but a Nimari Burnett swished a couple free throws and after (Sanfordt)'s jumper missed the mark, Michigan led 35-33 at halftime. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Iowa came out of the break and made their first two shots from the floor, layups by Tony Perkins and Ben Krikke to put Iowa ahead 37-35. That's when Michigan's game-changing run came, one extended Wolverine massacre that put the Wolverines in firm control. It started with hot three point shooting, two long guns knocked down by Nimari Burnett a minute apart, followed by an Olivier Nkamhoua triple. On the next Iowa possession Krikke missed a jumper, Dug McDaniel snatched the rebound and ran the fast break, feeding Nkamhoua for an alley-oop. The 11-0 Michigan run put them up 46-37 and Iowa called timeout. 

The timeout did not stop the bleeding. Krikke was fouled and went 1/2 at the line on the possession out of the timeout but a McDaniel running hook went down which was a bad sign for the Hawkeyes: Michigan's leading scorer was alive. That shot represented Dug's first points of the game and once he saw it tickle the twine, the confidence was flowing in his game. His next attempted shot would be a pull-up three to make it 53-40 and the following possession saw Dug set up Reed for an and-one. 56-42 Michigan. 

Iowa's offense was not able to keep up with Michigan during this period of the game. The Hawkeyes remained cold from beyond the arc, while Michigan started to find the perimeter shooting they lacked in that first half. One possession saw Iowa recover three offensive rebounds on the same possession but still come up empty because three after three clanged off the iron.

To make matters worse, Iowa committed offensive fouls on two straight possessions, seeming to set off the temper of coach Fran McCaffery. McCaffery was T'd up once after the second offensive foul, and then he'd be hit with another only a few moments later while Tray Jackson was at the free throw line. McCaffery was thus ejected from the game. The two technicals, plus Iowa offensive fouls and shooting fouls, ended up giving Michigan six free throw attempts in under 10 seconds of game time and the Wolverines went 6/6 to stretch the lead all the way up to 62-42. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

There was 12:25 left on the clock when Michigan built up their 20 point lead and from that point forward, the Maize & Blue were in firm control. The lead was never trimmed to single digits the rest of the way as the two teams traded mini-runs. Iowa cut it to 62-47 with a mini-run, but Olivier Nkamhoua made a bucket to blunt it. Iowa got it back down to 66-52 and began to press, but Dug McDaniel's speed and body control was too much, slicing through the press for an easy layup. Next time down the floor Dug wiggled between two pressuring defenders and pulled up for a long two. Swish. 70-52. 

Iowa got it down to 72-56 at the under 8 timeout, made a pair of free throws to trim it to 14, but Reed came up big, snatching an OREB off a McDaniel missed three leading to a Nkamhoua second-chance 3 to push the lead back to 17. It was that sort of final 10 minutes, every Iowa push answered by Michigan made shots. By the time Terrance Williams II hit a corner 3 to push the lead to 78-60, the game was just about over. Michigan got to sub their reserves in late and Iowa made a mini-charge in the final minute but their 9-1 run to end the game was only about putting lipstick on the pig. The game was never competitive and the 10 point margin the final score sat at was the closest it ever got after the big run. 

After the Reed/Williams-heavy first half, stronger second halves from the rest of the starters results in a relatively even looking box score. Reed led the way with 19 (+6 boards and 3 blocks), Burnett with 14, Williams 13, Nkamhoua 12, and McDaniel 11. Dug added seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals in a productive showing. Tray Jackson added 8 off the bench, as did Will Tschetter with 10 [note: Jaelin Llewellyn missed the game with "knee soreness"]. Michigan shot 48% from the floor, 37.5% from three, and a very sharp 23/28 (82.1%) from the free throw line. Krikke led Iowa with 24 and Perkins added 19, but 5/20 from three was the story of the game for Iowa. 

Michigan gets a week off before they're back in action next Saturday at home against Eastern Michigan. EMU is 5-4 but ranks 307th out of 362 in KenPom, so Michigan will be heavily favored in that one. That game is scheduled for 2:30 PM EST and slated to be broadcast on BTN. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]