Michigan 103, Iowa 91
Well thank you, Fran. Down 90-77, on the road, with just a few minutes left, Iowa coach/Person Who Would Like to Speak to the Manager Fran McCaffery could have packed it in. Instead he decided to go full Izzo, starting the foul train early so that the Wolverines could give their home fans the first super-centennial score to celebrate since you first turned to your buddy like "this Duncan Robinson can shoot." Except you'll probably still remember this one in four years.
McCaffery and Michigan's Juwan Howard clearly had the same gameplan: let Luka Garza go to work one-on-one in the post and don't let it leave there. Garza had 15 of Iowa's first 17 points, 27 of their 38 points by halftime, and finished with 44 on 43 shot equivalents without hitting a single three-pointer or giving his teammates a single assist. The Garza show also forced Howard to go deep into his bench. Teske played just 23 minutes, picking up his second foul (urrrrrgh I hated that one) with 6 minutes left in the 1st half, and his third and fourth (urggh I hated this one nearly as much as the other one) with 11 minutes left in the 2nd half. Isaiah Livers fouled out. And Garza's loose elbow sent Colin Castleton to the locker room with a bloody lip early in the first frame—he would return only once the game was well decided.
In their stead Austin Davis (10 minutes) and Brandon Johns (19) were called upon to play their most significant minutes this season. They couldn't have chosen a better opponent for it. Both struggled with Garza in the post, but also feasted on Garza's flailing style of defense. Davis had 8 points, including back-to-back dunks, and Johns scored 12 on 10 shot equivalents while adding five offensive rebounds, mostly in the last 10 minutes.
Yuck. [Campredon]
Meanwhile the Wolverine backcourt feasted on Iowa's otherwise absent defenders. A trip home and a few nights rest did wonders for the shooting that had been absent in Louisville. Michigan shot 42% from three, hit 29 of their season-high 34 free throws, and made 55% of their two-point attempts, spreading the wealth around:
Luka Garza had 44 points.
— Go Iowa Awesome (@IowaAwesome) December 7, 2019
Michigan had 6 players with 12 or more points.
Take a guess at which team won!
The shooting was more uncontested than truly hot, set up by the offense and Hawkeye defenders' inability to stay cohesive whenever the guy with the ball did a thing. Iowa tried various defensive strategies—full court press, zone, throwing Conner McCaffery at a 7'2" dude—but Michigan was able to pick each of them apart.
They're called kickouts, dude. I swear it's legal. [Campredon]
The run that finally stretched the lead beyond any but the most optimistic angry banker's imagination was keyed through the high post. Teske was productive in his limited minutes, with three assists and a beautiful elbow shot to go with his usual blocks, boards, and cleanups. Franz Wagner enjoyed slinking past the overmatched Joe Wieskamp to get to the line. Livers was active on the boards and pure death at the stripe. Simpson sunk 2/3 open threes. Brooks was 50% on everything. And even David "just two points?" DeJulius was a positive, with three assists after breaking down the Iowa defense with drives.
Things were a bit harder when Teske was in. [Campredon]
On the other end, a banged up Iowa attempted just 15 threes—most of them late prayers from well beyond the arc—and got exactly zero assists from Garza. Freshman SG CJ Fredrick, who missed Iowa's last game, was barely more effective than PG Jordan Bohannon, who seemed stiff and clearly bothered by his hip issue. Wieskamp had a few strong moments when he could shake Wagner. Big Ryan Kriener was an annoyingly effective post presence as well. Bakari Evelyn picked up a late foul to avoid Club Trillion by just one bit.
Things could have gotten a lot worse but Garza and Connor McCaffery were also effective on the offensive glass, and Garza was able to draw a lot of whistles while getting the benefit of the doubt for his own physical play. You can bet there's going to be some boxing out practice this week.
The final shot chart is something worth staring at:
And if you [hit the jump] there's a box score so incredible you may have to read it in Ace's podcasting voice.
Zero assists. Nada.
December 6th, 2019 at 10:31 PM ^
Goddamn, this team is fun to watch. And great to see Johns have a breakout game, with unbelievable energy.
I think we got ourselves one hell of a new coach too - what do y'all think?
Gong to be an exciting year of hoops!
December 7th, 2019 at 9:06 AM ^
For sure. Exceeding all expectations. Love it!
December 7th, 2019 at 10:28 AM ^
Juwan has saved Christmas!
If Brandonian grinches would steal this treasure... well... NBA/shit happens.
I at least am a Wolverine.
December 6th, 2019 at 10:42 PM ^
Very happy to see Franz as the leading scorer. I hope it starts to become a trend. Also Johns emergence is encouraging. Hoping that also becomes a trend.
December 7th, 2019 at 1:42 AM ^
He's still making some mistakes and didn't shoot well from 3 today, but he keeps showing more flashes. I think he'll be a beast by year's end.
December 7th, 2019 at 3:01 PM ^
Edit: Nevermind, I thought you were talking about Johns.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
I believe he got under control & woke in this game. I think Teske, Livers, Simpson, & Wagner are set to be the Fantastic Four.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
Wagner was under control more tonight. That right hand has got to get a bit more rehab time & shot reps before he gets solid from 3 range. He will get there.
December 7th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
Why do you want Franz to be the leading scorer?
December 7th, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
If someone other than the big three (Simpson, Teske, Livers) is leading us in scoring, it's likely a very good sign.
December 6th, 2019 at 10:47 PM ^
I will never not find it strange that Austin Davis is the most violent dunker on this team.
Also can't wait for Wagner to be able to finish one of his drives with the dunk he so clearly wants to pull off. Not sure if it happens before a summer in the weight room, but when it does it will be awesome.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:15 PM ^
Well, he did get a dunk for us to break 100 pts.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:11 AM ^
Franz flashed & flushed it for ?!
December 7th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
Franz wants to posterize some dude so badly.....
December 6th, 2019 at 10:47 PM ^
Another game where every Michigan player played well. Again Austin Davis has a good game and is useful. Johns had what looked like a breakout game last year, this time he has to keep the momentum going.
Going to Iowa in five weeks is going to be really annoying.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:15 AM ^
Way to early rematch prediction - UM 75 - Team Garza 60 with Garza getting 32.
December 7th, 2019 at 3:39 PM ^
That's too low-scoring.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
Will be interesting to see how Team Garza & Howard's Horde of snarling attacking Wolverines does in the rematch.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:13 PM ^
85% from the free throw line? Who are these guys?
Great team effort. Sharing the ball, diving for loose balls, playing in-your-face defense and shooting the rock.
Maybe the best part is how hard we play and how aggressively. That was true even in the Louisville loss. Fun team to watch.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
Howard's got the Wolverines playing with some snarl & attacking strategically on both O & D.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:19 PM ^
That look Juwan is shooting Fran... Like, what the fuck are you doing? That one look tells me that JH is twice the coach Fran is.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
Garza is a piece of work and is the quintessential player who is despised by every other fan base while beloved by his own.
He talks to himself at the free throw line, talks to opponents after he hammers them, looks incredulous when he fouls, and runs like a newborn calf.
Johns looked like a different player and it was great to see Davis contribute and also abuse Garza on the PnR.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^
Agreed. Super annoying to watch him play. Respect his game though. He's a tough player.
He seems a lot like Moe Wagner in the fact that every other fan base probably hates him, but Iowa adores him. Super emotional and outgoing. Beyond that Moe and Garza's games couldn't be more different.
December 7th, 2019 at 8:07 AM ^
I disagree that his game is deserving of respect. He relies heavily on getting away with offensive fouls and travelling.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:24 AM ^
Agree. Refs give Garza a lot of license to play like bullying bull in his pen on the block. Wonder what's with that? We've seen calls on Teske for similar physical play down low.
December 7th, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
Bull. Garza attacks the hoop with tenacity and we would love him on our team. Much respect.
December 7th, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
Maybe this has been said before, but I’ve thought Garza is Iowa’s version of Kevin McHale. He is crafty and physical in the post, lots of pump fakes, uses his elbows to create space and hurt his defender, and he is universally despised by opposing teams.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:25 PM ^
I'm here for my helping of crow after bashing John's last game. Kid played tough today. By far the best game of his career. I hope this is his new baseline.
December 7th, 2019 at 8:44 AM ^
I’m right there with you. I said he wasn’t ready after last game. Completely different player tonight (granted Iowa isn’t as athletic as UL).
even outside of the 3s he made, which were big, if he can just contribute defense, rebounding on both ends and finishing at the rim, he’ll get minutes and make a positive impact. It may be a case of trying to do too much vs playing within his comfort zone was the difference between Tuesday and Friday.
December 7th, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
I'll take a plate too.....I called him super-soft vs. Louisville. If he stays aggressive, he'll be great for the team.
December 7th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
Brandon Johns with a 194 ORtg. What is the maximum offensive rating? ORtg is number of points per 100 individual possessions. It seems like it would be 400 because a player could potentially hit a 3-pointer, get fouled and make the FT on every possession. But then I looked up the formula and it made my head hurt. I was not a math major.
December 7th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
I hope this is his new baseline.
Are you setting yourself up to criticize him again?
This was not a baseline performance, it was a really good game from him. He's not going to give us 12 and 8 off the bench (with an ORtg of 194!) every night.
December 7th, 2019 at 4:03 PM ^
He HOPES it is! Heck, I hope it is too! If he falls slightly short, I'll cut him some slack, hehe...
December 6th, 2019 at 11:36 PM ^
I've been worried about Teske getting in foul trouble. Glad to see Austin Davis able to hold down the fort when that happened tonight. And the back-to-back dunks off the dish from Simpson were way fun. Keep it up Austin! Great team win. Go Blue!
December 7th, 2019 at 2:33 PM ^
I think we're going to end up with more than one game decided this season by how fickle and inconsistent the refs decide to be calling fouls on Teske.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:37 PM ^
Luka Garza is going to be one hell of a player on a EuroLeague team. That’s a half-slight, but dude is talented offensively.
This team is fun to watch when they aren’t playing their 4th game in 7 days.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
Davis + Johns: 29 minutes, 20 points, 11 rebounds
Nice.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:26 AM ^
Who saw that coming?
December 7th, 2019 at 12:04 AM ^
Someone please inform the NCAA that Bohannon, Garza and Kriener actually should have graduated a couple years ago, back when their hairlines did.
December 7th, 2019 at 12:15 AM ^
Garza's eyebrows are out in full force, though.
EDITED: for poor facial feature assumption.
December 7th, 2019 at 12:38 AM ^
I thought it was a mole. Turns out his lip got busted open last game and those were stitches he needed to close it
December 7th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
Noted. +1
December 7th, 2019 at 1:02 AM ^
I'm starting to get really excited about this team.
It's the perfect kind of scenario for a fun season too – low expectations, but high hopes.
Can't wait for the journey to continue. Love Coach Howard.
GO BLUE!
December 7th, 2019 at 9:18 AM ^
The football team has taken on the same scenario....low expectations, high hopes.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:29 AM ^
Howard is a super solid class dude. When he talked about this job being his "calling," well you just cannot say enough good things about this man in the context of his early results with this team.
December 7th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
Howard and staff are crushing it. The players are playing fast and loose. It's gonna be a fun ride!!
December 7th, 2019 at 1:25 AM ^
If Davis had a little more time he might have had another basket. That would have put 7 players in double figures.
December 7th, 2019 at 6:59 AM ^
Even then, I can't remember the last time Michigan had 6 guys in double figures. Amazing.
December 7th, 2019 at 2:00 AM ^
Eli Brooks has to be the turnaround player of the year. I thought he deserved a little more patience as he hit his sophomore slump hard, but I didnt see this coming. His freshman year though he had some real flashes. Poor mans Tim Hardaway Jr?
December 7th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
By the end of the year he may be a rich mans Hardaway. What a turnaround. Kudos to Eli and kudos to the coaching staff.
Comments