Field Level Media
Mar 15, 2019
Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis led five Michigan players in double figures with 15 points, and the No. 10 Wolverines romped past Iowa 74-53 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament at Chicago on Friday.
Michigan (27-5), the third seed, won the last two conference tournaments and looked poised for a three-peat during a dominating performance.
The Wolverines will play seventh-seeded Minnesota in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Gophers upset Purdue, the second seed, 75-73, on Friday.
Isaiah Livers had 13 points off the bench, while Jon Teske contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan. Jordan Poole added 11 points, and Zavier Simpson tossed in 10 with 11 assists. Charles Matthews, who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, was limited to five points.
Luka Garza and Tyler Cook had 14 points apiece for sixth-seeded Iowa (22-11). The Hawkeyes were held to 35.6 percent shooting and missed all but one of their 16 3-point tries. Michigan shot 45.2 percent for the game.
Michigan finished the first half with a 13-4 run to take a 40-27 lead. The Wolverines made half of their shots, including seven of their 16 3-point tries. Iowa missed all eight of its long-range attempts before the break.
The Hawkeyes were down just four when Cook made a layup with 4:57 remaining in the half.
Livers then sparked the Wolverines run with back-to-back jumpers. Matthews, Livers and Simpson fired in threes during the last 3:29 of the half. Garza scored the only Iowa points during that span.
Poole's four-point play early in the second half gave the Wolverines a 14-point advantage. A Brazdeikis three-point play began a 9-0 Michigan run that stretched its lead to 24 points. Teske scored two baskets in a 29-second span and Simpson converted a layup to make it 59-35.
Poole's dunk with 6:42 remaining off a Matthews feed nudged the Wolverines' advantage to 25.
The Hawkeyes won the regular-season meeting 74-59 in Iowa City.
--Field Level Media