A second-half surge paced the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team to a 79-57 victory over No. 9 Iowa on Thursday night (Feb. 25) at Crisler Center.
Michigan (17-1, 12-1 Big Ten) shot 54.3 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc in the second half to earn the victory over Iowa (17-7, 11-6 Big Ten).
The Wolverines held Iowa to its lowest point total in a half, giving up just 29 points to the Hawkeyes in the first half, while forcing nine turnovers.
Sophomore Franz Wagner led U-M with his fifth 20-point performance, scoring 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Senior Isaiah Livers added 16 points (12 from beyond the arc), six rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Freshman Hunter Dickinson and senior Eli Brooks paced Michigan on the boards, each grabbing eight rebounds. Dickinson scored 14 points, and Brooks had seven.
The game saw three lead changes in the first 10 minutes before Michigan strung together six straight points and kept the Hawkeyes off the scoreboard to give U-M a 21-17 advantage with 6:17 remaining in the opening half.
Iowa followed with a 6-0 run of its own to swing the lead back into its favor, 23-21, and forced U-M to use a timeout with just under four minutes to play. A three-pointer from Wagner with 2:23 left in the half gave Michigan the lead agains, and the Wolverines held it the remainder of the half to take a 32-29 lead into the break.
Wagner and Dickinson scored eight points each and Livers added six over the first 20 minutes.
The U-M offense came out firing on all cylinders, stringing together nine straight points -- including a triple from Chaundee Brown Jr. to get out to a 16-point lead, 62-46, with 8:35 left to play. U-M continued to build on its lead, adding two free throws and a triple from Livers en route to a 22-point victory over the Hawkeyes.
Michigan will be back in action Saturday (Feb. 27) when it heads to Bloomington to take on Indiana. The game is scheduled for a noon tipoff and will be broadcast live on Fox.