No. 3 Michigan reinforced its argument as a team worthy of grouping with No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor by stepping away in the second half against No. 9 Iowa for a 79-57 victory.
Any doubts about how the Wolverines, now 17-1 in the season, can respond from their long break at COVID-19 have been cleared by a four-game winning streak that included road wins against No. 21 Wisconsin and No. 4 Ohio State ahead of a 22-point win on Thursday against another top 10 opponent. Michigan’s win further strengthens the potential of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, bringing the Wolverines closer to securing the regular Big Ten title and adds to Juwan Howard’s argument as a candidate for the conference and national coach of the year.
The clash was announced for the meeting of senior national player of the year, Luka Garza, face to face with freshman Michigan Hunter Dickinson, especially after the 2.10-meter pivot led the Wolverines with 16 of their 22 high points. in the second half of the Ohio State victory. But early problems for Dickinson limited his time on the court, and Garza, although he finished with the team’s best score, 16 points, never got into the rhythm and was content with his offensive production in 6 of 19 shots. Part of that is a credit to Dickinson, who did a great job in the second half defending Garza without suffering a fourth foul, but it was a total effort by the team to limit the Iowa star’s ability to take control the way he did in the last two. . times he faced the Wolverines.
What Michigan achieved in place of Dickinson’s offensive production was a stellar game by Franz Wagner, which ended with a 21-point team on a very efficient 9 to 12 pitch night and a strong 16-point performance from Isaiah Livers with four points of 3.