Iowa Basketball Matchup First Look: Michigan

The Iowa Hawkeyes have officially rebounded from their earlier struggles with CJ Fredrick out of the lineup. Fredrick is now back, and despite some early issues against Penn State, the Hawkeyes continued to cruise as Luka Garza because Iowa’s all-time leading scorer.

But now the Hawkeyes turn from an effort to regain their footing to a stretch of games that will determine their Big Ten Tournament fate and their NCAA Tournament seed. That starts on Thursday night as Iowa travels to Big Ten leading Michigan. As noted in our breakdown of potential seeding scenarios, a win by the Hawkeyes takes the cracked window of opportunity for a regular season conference title and pushes it open.

But it will be a tall task as the Wolverines come in at a staggering 11-1 in Big Ten play and their eyes set on a title. A win here for Michigan would all but cement their position with just Illinois left on the schedule among the league’s contenders.

As we get ready for Thursday’s matchup, here’s your first look at how Iowa stacks up with Michigan.

Matchup: #9 Iowa Hawkeyes (17-6, 11-5) at #3 Michigan Wolverines (16-1, 11-1)
When: Thursday, February 25th at 6:00 pm CT
Where: Crisler Center - Ann Arbor, MI
TV: ESPN
Video Streaming: WatchESPN.com
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (click to find your local station)
Audio Streaming: TuneIn Radio

Statistical Overview

Iowa

Points Per Game: 86.4
Points Allowed Per Game: 72.8
Rebounds Per Game: 41.1
Assists Per Game: 19.6
Blocks Per Game: 4.3
Steals Per Game: 5.6

Michigan

Points Per Game: 79.2
Points Allowed Per Game: 66.2
Rebounds Per Game: 38.9
Assists Per Game: 15.8
Blocks Per Game: 5.0
Steals Per Game: 4.3

Statistical Leaders

Iowa

Scoring: Luka Garza 24.7 PPG
Rebounds: Luka Garza 8.5 RPG
Assists: Jordan Bohannon 4.7 APG

Michigan

Scoring: Hunter Dickinson 15.0 PPG
Rebounds: Hunter Dickinson 7.8 RPG
Assists: Mike Smith 5.4 APG

Advanced Stats

Adjusted Offense
IOWA 127.0 (1) MICHIGAN 121.0 (6)
Adjusted Defense
IOWA 97.2 (75) MICHIGAN 90.4 (10)
Adjusted Tempo
IOWA 69.6 (104) MICHIGAN 67.4 (218)
Adjusted Efficiency Margin
IOWA +29.83 (4) MICHIGAN +30.60 (3)

Projected Outcome

Final: Michigan 80, Iowa 78
Total Possessions: 69
Win Likelihood Percentage: 40%

Note: Advanced stats are taken from KenPom.com. National rankings are provided following each metric. Adjusted offense and defense metrics measure the points scored per 100 possessions, adjusted for quality of opponent, location and when it was played (more recent gets more weighting). Adjusted tempo is defined as total possessions divided by minutes, adjusted for schedule considering the preferred pace of each team.