Michigan Wolverines (13-4, 3-1) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (13-3, 4-0)
Tip Time: 3:36 p.m.
TV: BTN– Jeff Levering and Jon Crispin
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
History: Michigan leads the overall series 91-60. In games played in Iowa City, the two schools are tied at 36 wins each. The Wolverines have won 11 of the last 15 meetings, but Iowa has won the last two, including last year defeating Michigan 72-54. Last time the two schools played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was in 2014 and Iowa won 85-67. Fran McCaffery is 2-4 against Michigan. John Beilein is 10-4 against the Hawkeyes.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 6.5 point favorite
THE LINEUPS
IOWA
Adam Woodbury – 8.3 ppg
Jarrod Uthoff – 18.4 ppg
Peter Jok – 13.8 ppg
Anthony Clemmons – 8.0 ppg
Mike Gesell – 9.8 ppg
MICHIGAN
Zak Irvin – 9.8 ppg
Duncan Robinson – 12.1 ppg
Derrick Walton Jr – 10.2 ppg
Mark Donnal – 6.7 ppg
Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman – 6.1 ppg
PLAYER TO WATCH
Zak Irvin - After a somewhat quiet start to the season, Zak Irvin is his scoring touch for the Wolverines with Caris LeVert sidelined. Irvin had 22 in the upset win over Maryland earlier this week and 16 against Penn State in early January. On the year, Irvin is averaging 9.8 points per game, but since LeVert has been sidelined the past three games, he is averaging 15 points per game. Irvin was a highly recruited player out of high school and a guy that can score in a variety of different ways. He’s strong and quick off the bounce and can finish around the rim. But, he’s very dangerous from beyond the arch. For the season he’s only averaging 27% from three, but he has picked it up of late. Irvin can score in bunches and that’s what makes him a dangerous player in this contest.
KEY MATCH-UP
Jarrod Uthoff vs. Duncan Robinson – It’s expected that Uthoff will have the task of checking the sharp shooting Robinson on Sunday afternoon and that should be very interesting. Robinson is a pretty good story. He played at D3 Williams College in his freshman year and transferred to Michigan as a scholarship player last year and sat out as a redshirt. This season he been lights out from three point land, making a ridiculous 56% of his shots and he’s making almost four a game. Uthoff leads the Big Ten in shots blocked and Iowa fans have seen him get his hands on more than a few jumpers from the outside this year. Beyond that, Uthoff is averaging a league best 18 points of game and making 45% of his three’s this season. It could be a really fascinating match-up between these two on Sunday afternoon.
STATS AND NOTES
The game on Sunday has been designated as a “White Out”. Iowa fans are encouraged to wear white. Iowa is 8-1 this season when they wear their white uniforms. Jarrrod Uthoff is one of 25 players named to the midseason Wooden Award Watch list. Uthoff now has 968 career points and is nearing 1,000 in his three year Iowa career. Mike Gesell was named Big Ten Player of the Week this past week. He had his first career double-double (22 points and 10 assists) in the win over Nebraska. Gesell now has 462 career assists, which is good for 6th on Iowa’s all-time list. He also has 962 points and is closing in on 1,000 career points. The Hawkeyes are 8-0 this season at home and have won 11 straight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena dating back to last season. Iowa is 2-0 this season when playing on Sunday and 14-15 overall under Fran McCaffery. Iowa is 5-0 this season when they appear on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 1988-89 season and have won ten straight regular season Big Ten games for the first time since the 1969-70 season. Mark Donnal, the starting center for the Wolverines, is the younger brother of former Iowa Football standout Andrew Donnal.
THE PICK
Michigan is coming off their biggest win of the season when they knocked off a very good Maryland team in Ann Arbor. But, life on the road hasn’t been great for the Wolverines with a 2-2 record this season, including their most recent loss to Purdue by 17 points. They were also blown out by SMU earlier this season on the road.
Having said that, they are a dangerous team simply because they can really shoot the ball at a high level. Against the Terps earlier this week, they made 12 three point field goals that helped them pull off the upset. Iowa was equally as hot from deep earlier this week, burying 9 three’s in the first half in their double figure win at Michigan State.
There doesn’t seem to be much danger of a letdown from the Hawkeyes going into this game. Even though they have handled the Wolverines the last two times they have met, Iowa knows that Michigan is a very good team. Derrick Walton is one of the better point guards in the Big Ten and he can score. Irvin can get hot and score in bunches. Robinson might be the best three point shooter in the country this year. Then you throw in Aubrey Dawkins, who can really stroke it and you have a lot of guys that you need to guard.
Where the Wolverines are weak is in the interior. Mark Donnal is a solid player, but not a big presence in the post. Basically they don’t have much size and Iowa should be able to get after it on the glass and score going to the rim without much of a threat.
The status of Caris LeVert is one of the big question marks heading into this game. LeVert is the leading scorer for the Wolverines and almost certainly a first round NBA talent. But, he’s missed the last three games with a foot injury to the same foot that he broke last year. Michigan is being extra careful with LeVert and even if he plays, which seems doubtful, his minutes will certainly be limited.
This is a mature Iowa team with four seniors and a junior in the starting lineup. They don’t ever appear to be looking past anyone and more importantly, their level of effort doesn’t diminish based on the opponent. This will be a tough game and should be closer than the last two meetings. But, Iowa seems to be in a real groove right now and the sold out crowd will into the game and the Hawkeyes will find a way to win this tight game.IOWA 71 MICHIGAN 66
Tip Time: 3:36 p.m.
TV: BTN– Jeff Levering and Jon Crispin
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
History: Michigan leads the overall series 91-60. In games played in Iowa City, the two schools are tied at 36 wins each. The Wolverines have won 11 of the last 15 meetings, but Iowa has won the last two, including last year defeating Michigan 72-54. Last time the two schools played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was in 2014 and Iowa won 85-67. Fran McCaffery is 2-4 against Michigan. John Beilein is 10-4 against the Hawkeyes.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 6.5 point favorite
THE LINEUPS
IOWA
Adam Woodbury – 8.3 ppg
Jarrod Uthoff – 18.4 ppg
Peter Jok – 13.8 ppg
Anthony Clemmons – 8.0 ppg
Mike Gesell – 9.8 ppg
MICHIGAN
Zak Irvin – 9.8 ppg
Duncan Robinson – 12.1 ppg
Derrick Walton Jr – 10.2 ppg
Mark Donnal – 6.7 ppg
Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman – 6.1 ppg
PLAYER TO WATCH
Zak Irvin - After a somewhat quiet start to the season, Zak Irvin is his scoring touch for the Wolverines with Caris LeVert sidelined. Irvin had 22 in the upset win over Maryland earlier this week and 16 against Penn State in early January. On the year, Irvin is averaging 9.8 points per game, but since LeVert has been sidelined the past three games, he is averaging 15 points per game. Irvin was a highly recruited player out of high school and a guy that can score in a variety of different ways. He’s strong and quick off the bounce and can finish around the rim. But, he’s very dangerous from beyond the arch. For the season he’s only averaging 27% from three, but he has picked it up of late. Irvin can score in bunches and that’s what makes him a dangerous player in this contest.
KEY MATCH-UP
Jarrod Uthoff vs. Duncan Robinson – It’s expected that Uthoff will have the task of checking the sharp shooting Robinson on Sunday afternoon and that should be very interesting. Robinson is a pretty good story. He played at D3 Williams College in his freshman year and transferred to Michigan as a scholarship player last year and sat out as a redshirt. This season he been lights out from three point land, making a ridiculous 56% of his shots and he’s making almost four a game. Uthoff leads the Big Ten in shots blocked and Iowa fans have seen him get his hands on more than a few jumpers from the outside this year. Beyond that, Uthoff is averaging a league best 18 points of game and making 45% of his three’s this season. It could be a really fascinating match-up between these two on Sunday afternoon.
STATS AND NOTES
The game on Sunday has been designated as a “White Out”. Iowa fans are encouraged to wear white. Iowa is 8-1 this season when they wear their white uniforms. Jarrrod Uthoff is one of 25 players named to the midseason Wooden Award Watch list. Uthoff now has 968 career points and is nearing 1,000 in his three year Iowa career. Mike Gesell was named Big Ten Player of the Week this past week. He had his first career double-double (22 points and 10 assists) in the win over Nebraska. Gesell now has 462 career assists, which is good for 6th on Iowa’s all-time list. He also has 962 points and is closing in on 1,000 career points. The Hawkeyes are 8-0 this season at home and have won 11 straight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena dating back to last season. Iowa is 2-0 this season when playing on Sunday and 14-15 overall under Fran McCaffery. Iowa is 5-0 this season when they appear on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 1988-89 season and have won ten straight regular season Big Ten games for the first time since the 1969-70 season. Mark Donnal, the starting center for the Wolverines, is the younger brother of former Iowa Football standout Andrew Donnal.
THE PICK
Michigan is coming off their biggest win of the season when they knocked off a very good Maryland team in Ann Arbor. But, life on the road hasn’t been great for the Wolverines with a 2-2 record this season, including their most recent loss to Purdue by 17 points. They were also blown out by SMU earlier this season on the road.
Having said that, they are a dangerous team simply because they can really shoot the ball at a high level. Against the Terps earlier this week, they made 12 three point field goals that helped them pull off the upset. Iowa was equally as hot from deep earlier this week, burying 9 three’s in the first half in their double figure win at Michigan State.
There doesn’t seem to be much danger of a letdown from the Hawkeyes going into this game. Even though they have handled the Wolverines the last two times they have met, Iowa knows that Michigan is a very good team. Derrick Walton is one of the better point guards in the Big Ten and he can score. Irvin can get hot and score in bunches. Robinson might be the best three point shooter in the country this year. Then you throw in Aubrey Dawkins, who can really stroke it and you have a lot of guys that you need to guard.
Where the Wolverines are weak is in the interior. Mark Donnal is a solid player, but not a big presence in the post. Basically they don’t have much size and Iowa should be able to get after it on the glass and score going to the rim without much of a threat.
The status of Caris LeVert is one of the big question marks heading into this game. LeVert is the leading scorer for the Wolverines and almost certainly a first round NBA talent. But, he’s missed the last three games with a foot injury to the same foot that he broke last year. Michigan is being extra careful with LeVert and even if he plays, which seems doubtful, his minutes will certainly be limited.
This is a mature Iowa team with four seniors and a junior in the starting lineup. They don’t ever appear to be looking past anyone and more importantly, their level of effort doesn’t diminish based on the opponent. This will be a tough game and should be closer than the last two meetings. But, Iowa seems to be in a real groove right now and the sold out crowd will into the game and the Hawkeyes will find a way to win this tight game.IOWA 71 MICHIGAN 66
