Michigan Basketball beats Iowa 85-83 for its seventh straight win

There’s bad news for point guard Tre Donaldson: Michigan basketball is no longer under the radar.

While that may not sound like a problem, UM’s senior recruit joked Friday afternoon that he was enjoying the Wolverines’ slow climb in the polls this season and that he didn’t mind seeing a number next to the block M logo – Michigan entered the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll this week at No. 23, though it still isn’t ranked in the Associated Press poll until March, when it “really matters.”

Like it or not, there will be a number next to U-M’s name again on Monday, as UM cruised to an 85-83 victory in the second half Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center, and Donaldson was a big part of that.

ALIEN NATION:Michigan basketball duo Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf are honing their “Area 51” craft

His highlight-reel crossover in the first half sent the Crisler Center crowd into a frenzy and fueled an early 17-2 run. Although the Hawkeyes were able to tie the score later, a three-point play by Donaldson with 2:34 left in the first and a floater three seconds before halftime kept UM going.

Michigan led by 11 with 6:30 to play when the Hawkeyes went on a 17-7 run, capped by two 3-pointers from Payton Sandfort wrapped around a mid-range jumper from Pryce Sandfort, to tie the game at 83-and-1 We were able to equalize 20 seconds to play.

But after calling a timeout with 16.1 seconds left, Dusty May set up a play for Roddy Gayle Jr., who hit a straight-line drive. The ball didn’t drop, but Iowa was called to the goalie.

“We thought they were paying a lot of attention to Vlad and Danny,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said after the game. “We basically just used those two as decoys. … We felt like if Roddy could get downhill, Danny and Vlad would have a chance on the glass.”

“You split hairs when you want to play for the last shot or get it off the glass. … But hats off to Roddy, he played really well. … These guys did well and that was option No. 1.”

The Hawkeyes got the ball with 4.3 seconds left and had one last chance – beating Northwestern in their Big Ten opener on a 35-foot 3-pointer by Josh Dix as time expired earlier in the week – and then called a timeout with 1.1 seconds left.

A late shot from the corner by Payton Sandfort failed and UM (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) escaped with its seventh straight victory, its longest streak since the start of the 2020-21 season with 11 straight wins.

“It probably hurt you because we were trying to take away the same concept,” May said when asked if the fact that Iowa was in that situation right now helped UM figure it out. “They did something completely opposite…got a decent look, obviously Coach McCaffrey has been doing this for a long time and knows how to generate quality shots at any given time.”

Iowa took its first lead at 45-44 early in the second half before UM made eight straight field goals and appeared to pull away

Five Wolverines scored in double figures: Vlad Goldin had 20 points and 11 rebounds (his first double-double for UM), Donaldson had 18 and five assists, Gayle had 17 points, five assists and four rebounds, Danny Wolf had his third double-double Double. Doubled with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Will Tschetter added 13.

“They’re just veterans, Big Ten is a tough league,” Donaldson said. “Had to endure that little run they had, that’s just learning how to close out plays from veterans who know how to close out plays and just executing.”

Gayle, Goldin and Wolf scored UM’s final 20 points in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Although the Wolverines’ first phase of Big Ten play is over, the schedule doesn’t get any easier with a game against Arkansas and John Calipari coming up on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN) in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Sloppy first half keeps Hawkeyes hanging on

The Wolverines came into the game looking to slow the Hawkeyes at halftime and did so by holding Iowa to two points in transition. Michigan also shot much better from the floor, making 50% of its shots compared to Iowa’s 38.5%.

But the Hawkeyes had 11 more attempts, 39-28, thanks to another sloppy UM half.

Michigan turned the ball over 11 times, compared to just two by Iowa, which the Hawkeyes turned into a 13-0 advantage in uncommitted points, the main reason UM was only three points ahead at halftime. The other reason? The Wolverines are usually the top scoring team, but Iowa had a 23-10 lead off the bench as Pryce Sandfort and Drew Thelwell each started 10 before halftime.

“Sales were the loudest,” May said of the first few issues.

UM dominated almost everywhere, including a 27-13 advantage on the glass, a 12-4 advantage in second-chance points and a 24-14 points advantage in the paint.

Michigan pulled away during its run, holding the Hawkeyes to 1-for-11 from the floor, while UM made six of its first nine attempts to take a 20-4 lead. Gayle scored the first five points before Donaldson hit a 3, a hook and two free throws from Goldin, a put-back from Tschetter and then the crossover from Donaldson.

He added two more free throws, then a Tschetter finish at the basket made it a 16-point lead. But then Iowa went on a 22-8 run over the next eight minutes to get within two. After UM extended its lead back to seven, the Hawkeyes went on a 7-0 run in 75 seconds to tie the game at 35 points before UM took a 3-point lead at the break.

Wolverines pull away with a red-hot stretch

Iowa took its first lead with a sharp layup early in the half, but a Goldin putback on the other end put UM right back in front.

Although Iowa would soon take a three-point lead, 51-48, Goldin’s basket proved to be the start of a Wolverines heater.

Wolf added a layup and then a jumper before Tschetter added a completion after a push from Gayle down the baseline and then a 3-pointer from the left wing to take a 55-51 lead and the crowd to its feet place.

“He was terribly consistent,” May said of Tschetter. “Bring not only intangible values, but also material values. I thought his 3-pointer was a momentum-following play… just his everyday approach. You see 13 points, three rebounds, I’m not a big stats guy, but he just brings so much to our group every day.”

Donaldson then finished consecutive possessions with three points – first a three-pointer from the top of the key in transition, followed by a three-point play at the rim – before another Goldin basket made eight consecutive field goals in a five-point game. Minute stretch.

The problem? UM only led by three after that as Iowa stayed hot from the floor. Dix and the Sandfort Bros. each scored 3 points as Michigan went on the run to keep it close at 58-56, but a Gayle three-point play with 10:25 to play helped turn the tide.

Payton Sandfort scored 19, Pryce Sandfort and Dix each had 16 and Owen Freeman had 13 for the Hawkeyes.

UM stepped up its defense and Iowa missed eight of nine shots as the Wolverines used a 20-9 run after falling behind three times to take a 70-61 lead. Michigan appeared poised to tie the game with a 76-65 lead with 6:30 to play, but then went more than five minutes without a basket.

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