No. 15 Wolverines hope to hit it Big again (Feb 28, 2018)
NEW YORK -- Michigan's quest for a second straight Big Ten Tournament title begins Thursday against Iowa in the second round at Madison Square Garden.
The No. 15 Wolverines (24-7) are the fifth seed. Iowa (14-18), the No. 12 seed, knocked off Illinois 96-87 in the first round Wednesday. It marked the most points the Hawkeyes have scored in a Big Ten Tournament game. Iowa outrebounded Illinois 40-20 and made 25 more free throws (34-9) than the Illini.
Michigan swept the season series with Iowa, earning a 75-68 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 2 before going on to a 74-59 victory at Crisler Center on. Feb. 14.
"They're (Michigan) a real great team," Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey said. "The one guy nobody talks about is Muhammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman. I think that guy has had as good a year as anybody in our league."
Abdur Rahkman averages 12.3 points. With 105 assists against 21 turnovers, he is second in the nation with a 5.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Wolverines won the 2017 tournament for the second time in school history and, as the No. 8 seed, became the lowest seed ever to win the Big Ten Tournament. Previously, the lowest seed to win it was No. 6 Iowa in 2001.
"Duncan Robinson, the sixth man of the year, going to the bench as a senior?" McCaffery said. "That tells you a lot about (Michigan coach) John Beilein and his program."
Abdur Rahkman has played in 129 consecutive games, with 57 straight starts. Robinson has not missed a game as a Wolverine, appearing in 105 straight.
Four Hawkeyes score in double figures, led by Tyler Cook's 15.4 points per game. Cook is also Iowa's leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per contest. Jordan Bohannon (13.6), Luka Garza (12.1) and Isaiah Moss (11.2) also score in double figures.
The Hawkeyes are ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 79.97 points per contest. Iowa is also second in the Big Ten in assists with 18.3 per game, which ranks fourth nationally.
"This is a whole new season," Bohannon said. "There's no reason why we can't have a magical run."
Michigan features one of the best shooting big men in the country in Moritz Wagner. The 6-foot-11 forward is shooting 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.
"He's (Wagner) understanding (his impact). The other day (at Maryland), not on purpose, but he became a decoy because the other team was guarding him so much that other guys got open," Beilein said. "They pay a lot of attention to him and we were able to take the ball to the basket and when they took away the two we found the three.
"He's understanding the residual effect that comes from him being a fifth shooter out there."
"I feel a lot more comfortable in the post to make the right decision," Wagner told the Detroit Free Press. "When you feel like people are taking your stuff away, you sometimes feel like you have to counter that with some of your moves. That's not true.
"You rely on your teammates. Rely on simple stuff. That's usually the most efficient way (to play). I'm just trying to play with what the opponents give me and see what happens."
