There’s some bad news for point guard Tre Donaldson: Michigan basketball is no longer under the radar.
While that doesn’t seem like a problem, UM’s lead entertainer joked Friday afternoon that he’s enjoying the Wolverines’ slow rise in the polls this season and doesn’t mind seeing a number next to the Block M logo. — Michigan entered this week at No. 23 in the USA TODAY athletic trainers poll, although it remains unranked in the Associated Press poll — until March , date on which this “ really matters.”
Like it or not, there will be a number next to UM’s name again Monday, as UM held on in the second half for an 85-83 victory Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center , and Donaldson played a big part in it.
FOREIGN NATION: Michigan basketball duo Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf perfect their ‘Area 51’ craft
His highlight-reel crossover in the first half sent the Crisler Center crowd into a frenzy as part of an early 17-2 run. Although the Hawk Eye Later the score was tied, a three-point play by Donaldson with 2:34 left in the first and a floater 3 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 a pair of Payton Sandfort 3-pointers sandwiched around a mid-range jumper from Pryce Sandfort, to tie the game at 83 with 20 seconds to play.
But afterward, Dusty May called a timeout with 16.1 seconds left and set up a play for Roddy Gayle Jr., who got a straight-line drive. The ball didn’t drop, but Iowa was called for goaltending. The Hawkeyes got the ball back with 4.3 seconds left and one last chance — they beat Northwestern in their Big Ten opener on a 35-foot 3-pointer from Josh Dix as time expired earlier in the week — then called a timeout with 1.1 seconds left.
A late Payton Sandfort shot from the corner failed and UM (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) escaped with its seventh straight victory, its longest streak since winning 11 in a row to start the 2020-21 season.
Iowa took the lead for the first time early in the second half, 45-44, before UM made eight straight field goals and seemed to pull away. Five different Wolverines finished 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 recorded his third double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Will Tschetter added 13.
Gayle, Goldin and Wolf scored UM’s final 20 points in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Although the Wolverines’ Big Ten opener is over, the schedule doesn’t get any easier with a matchup against Arkansas and John Calipari on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN) at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Sloppy first half keeps Hawkeyes in contention
The Wolverines came into the game wanting to slow down the Hawkeyes at the break and did so, limiting Iowa to two points in transition at the break. Michigan also shot much better from the floor, making 50 percent of its shots compared to Iowa’s 38.5 percent. But the Hawkeyes had 11 more tries, 39-28, thanks to another sloppy UM half.
Michigan turned the ball over 11 times, compared to just two for Iowa, which the Hawkeyes turned into a 13-0 advantage in points on giveaways, the main reason why UM only held a lead of three points at the break. The other reason? The Wolverines are normally the team that shines from deep, but Iowa had a 23-10 edge on the bench thanks to 10 apiece before the break from Pryce Sandfort and Drew Thelwell.
UM dominated almost everywhere else, including a 27-13 advantage on the glass, a 12-4 advantage on second-chance points and a 24-14 advantage on points in the paint.
Michigan pulled away during its run as it held 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, before a 3 from Donaldson, a hook and a pair of free throws from Goldin, a put-back from Tschetter and then Donaldson’s crossover.
He added two more free throws, then a finish from Tschetter to the bucket gave him 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 to seven, the Hawkeyes went on a 7-0 run in 75 seconds to tie the game at 35 before UM took a 3-point lead into the break.
Wolverines walk away with a burning stretch
Iowa took its first lead of the game, 45-44, with a sharp layup early in the half, but a Goldin putback at the other end gave UM the lead again.
Although Iowa would go up by three points, 51-48, Goldin’s bucket proved to be the start of a heat for the Wolverines.
Wolf added a layup and then a jumper; Will Tschetter added a finish on a baseline pass from Gayle then a 3-pointer from the left wing; then Donaldson finished consecutive possessions with three points – first, a 3-pointer from the top of the corner, followed by a three-point play at the rim – and another Goldin layup made it eight straight field goals land in five minutes. .
The problem ? UM only led by three after that, as Iowa also stayed hot from the floor. Dix and the Sandfort Bros. each scored 3 points as Michigan raced away to keep the game close, but a Gayle and-1 with 10:25 to play helped turn the tide.
UM stepped up on defense and Iowa missed eight of nine shots, as the Wolverines used a 20-9 run after falling behind by three to go up 70-61. Michigan looked ready to put the game away, leading 76-65 with 6:30 to play, but then went more than five minutes without a field goal.
Michigan had an 81-73 lead with 2:29 left before allowing a 10-2 run over the next 2:09. Michigan had come up with a stop, 83-80, when it forced a trip, but Wolf made a careless pass on a press break the other way and gave it back, allowing the final Sandfort 3 to equalize.
This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball dominates Iowa, 85-83, for seventh straight victory
