February 25th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
Whooot! And let's not forget Wagner, who has returned to form.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:09 PM ^
That young man is smooth at the rim and I love it! This team makes me feel like I'm dreaming
February 25th, 2021 at 9:12 PM ^
Returned to form? I think every game he plays better then he ever has. He’s going to be a matchup nightmare in the tournament.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:26 PM ^
Well, he wasn't his normal self against OSU, but that's about it.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
Agreed, and I think this is an important distinction. I don't follow other teams so I can't speak to that but it seems like a lot of the time players here (Wagner in this case) are compared to their potential rather than their real-time play. This seems to happen a lot with UM point guards as well (I won't bring up UM qbs).
Maybe this will come off as a little obtuse, but I think it's important to appreciate the reality that Wagner is playing the best basketball of his life, right now. And that it sucks when it gets compared to the completely imaginary stretch where he was not doing this.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:18 PM ^
Precision engineering!
February 25th, 2021 at 9:34 PM ^
Wagner is sneaky delicious. He sizes up the problem in the first half, checks with the coaches at halftime, and plunges the dagger in the second half.
February 25th, 2021 at 10:01 PM ^
There's...a few metaphors going on here
February 25th, 2021 at 10:41 PM ^
Going on IN here
February 25th, 2021 at 11:27 PM ^
Gumby is what I think when I see Franz now.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
All the muppets!
Holy crap, did Dickenson destroy Garza - devastating!
Go Blue!!!!
February 25th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
By the time we were well ahead, Iowa's players, including Garza, were missing shots they are really capable of making.
But if Garza was just off his game there, a big part of it was how in his face Dickinson was early on. Remember, Dickinson's two early fouls weren't drawn by Garza attacking, they were weird/cheap ones. Dickinson played him straight up and was outstanding.
Everyone's defense was outstanding.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:17 PM ^
Iowa’s offense depends too much on Garza. They made him do too much, especially after that injury, and having Dickinson and Davis lean on him all game wore him out. It was probably extra exhausting because of how well they defended him and attacked him on the offensive end.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:24 PM ^
A lot of Iowa's strength is that, much like with Dickinson, Garza requires most teams to double him, so their other players can kill you from 3. Dickinson and Davis were able to contain Garza 1-on-1, and since no one was open, Garza was forced into some bad shots, which is both why he took so many and missed so many. The M defense overall also did a good job on the pick and pop action to prevent Garza's outside game from hurting them. Just fantastic all around on the defensive end.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:30 PM ^
Davis struggled a bit in the first half (understandably, of course) but he put in some key work in his limited second half time.
FWIW, when Michigan put out the second platoon with Johns at the 5 and a single digit lead... it took a couple of turnover possessions for Iowa to even get Garza a touch. And that's where we really put the game away. *Really* impressive how well the different elements of the team play their roles.
February 25th, 2021 at 10:39 PM ^
This was the first Iowa game I watched this year and your analysis sounds spot-on. It looked like McCaffrey didn't have a plan for Dickinson holding his own against Garza. Maybe he did and it didn't show because our wings absolutely smothered theirs.
I also noticed that Garza didn't show much of an outside game, which was surprising based on his reputation and what I remember seeing from him in previous years. It was definitely a fantastic defensive effort. It was only a matter of time before we went on a run and left them in the dust.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:26 PM ^
So true, SRK - entire team played fantastic defense tonight, and Dickenson was the lynchpin. His perfect positioning, long arms, and refusal to be duped by Garza's arsenal of post fakes and moves completely broke him.
The rest of the guys raced around the perimeter, avoiding picks and closing out without fouling. Hustle and smarts.
Kudos to Davis, too - he held his own when Juwan had to sit Dickenson.
Brilliant defensive performance!
February 25th, 2021 at 9:27 PM ^
No doubt Garza is having a great season. But that was required in order for Iowa to compete. This game qualified Dickinson for All-American status as he made the National Player of the Year look ordinary for 30 minutes or so.
February 25th, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
I'd miss a few shots from 3 feet if 7'1" Hunter Dickinson was in my grill.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
Looks like Garza stomped off without shaking hands. He knows he was owned tonight.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:20 PM ^
He was pouting on the bench those last couple minutes. Million dollar loser scowl.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:22 PM ^
Juwan and the bench waved at Iowa as they stormed off.
Wonder if they were being cautious about COVID post-game for once or if they were just sad they got their asses kicked?
February 25th, 2021 at 9:41 PM ^
Just mirroring their poor loser coach.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
This team is so mean and I love it. The nicest guys but an absolute bully squad.
February 26th, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
I was gonna say, the 2018 national title team was probably the outright meanest in terms of stiffling defense and playing like angry mofo's. Mo Wagner, Charles Matthews, and Zavier Simpson would mean mug all over the court and weren't afraid to get in other team's faces (Matthews laughing Nick Ward's face is priceless).
This team just bullies opponents with unmatched skill and precision until the other team wilts under the pressure and it's just absolutely beautiful. And you know they're nice dudes off the court to boot.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:04 PM ^
Nice win! Sheesh, I thought Fran McCaffrey's head was gonna pop. What a baby.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:04 PM ^
Garza looks like a muppet.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
Guy Cry-ley.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
Ho hum, just another curbstomping of a top ten opponent, holding the best offense in college basketball to under 60.
Maybe it's the day I'm having (it has been loooong and I watched on a window on my computer while work was happening elsewhere on screen) and maybe it's the discombobulated first half, but this felt... almost routine. Well, obviously, stoning Garza isn't routine, but Michigan called the "jail the other team" defensive play and, as usual, a couple guys on offense stepped up with huge contributions.
On Sunday we gave up 1.3 ppp and Franz Wagner was nearly invisible. Today it's 57 points and oh I think Franz just swooped through the lane for another layup.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:09 PM ^
i'm right there with you, stephen - was working while i watched, and i never, not once, got worried. it felt inevitable from the pop.
February 25th, 2021 at 10:21 PM ^
Yeah. Same here. I felt frustrated at certain points in the game, but I never felt worried about the outcome.
I was a nice non-feeling.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
Absolutely splendid.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
I thought Garza was a huge baby tonight. Did he walk off the floor without shaking hands?
February 25th, 2021 at 9:27 PM ^
he was probably worn out from throwing elbows all damn night
February 25th, 2021 at 10:25 PM ^
For the few who said Hunter deserved that elbow foul at the end of the first half against OSU, please explain to me how Garza didn’t foul out in 5 minutes of game time.
February 26th, 2021 at 5:37 AM ^
Someone explain to me how he only got one foul all night??
Jordan rules. . .
February 25th, 2021 at 9:14 PM ^
That is hilarious. My daughter always calls Garza “Bert”
February 25th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
Wagner really changed the momentum of this game.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
Some day........Garza will wake up in a cold sweat and hug his pillow thinking about tonight.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
Suuu! Represent!!
February 25th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
garza got 16, and i can't honestly remember too many of them.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
I spent all week being nervous about this game. So happy to see Muppets tonight.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
Wowsee, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. We've got a good team!
I got a root canal this afternoon in Wichita. Outstanding job by a Michigan grad! had a nice chat about Michigan basketball...sighed apprehensively about football.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:09 PM ^
Suck it, Garza. Suck it, Iowa. Benched for final 2+. Beautiful.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:11 PM ^
Fun season so far.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:15 PM ^
I’m getting tired of the conversation every time we beat a top 15 team while Gonzaga plays another nobody and Baylor is just now getting into their better conference opponents. Big ten is the best conference and we are the best team in the Bigten so stop this crap about whether Michigan is in Zags and Baylor’s league.
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