Wolverines Set to Host Iowa for B1G Opener, Star Wars Day

» No. 4-ranked Michigan opens Big Ten play hosting Iowa at Crisler Center.
» With a 20-game Big Ten schedule, the conference plays an early weekend with a home and an away game during early December.
» The Wolverines return home after playing four games in seven days, including three straight against top-eight ranked programs -- No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Gonzaga and No. 1 Louisville.
» Going from unranked to No. 4 in the AP poll, U-M posted the largest jump in the polls 70 year history.

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The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team takes a break from its non-conference slate for a pair of Big Ten games starting with a home game against Iowa on Friday (Dec. 6) at Crisler Center. The conference opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on FS1 with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Jimmy Jackson (analyst) as the broadcast crew.

Friday's game is also Star Wars Day, when Star Wars characters will be available on the concourse during pregame for photos and Star Wars/Michigan basketball posters will be given away.

Who are the Iowa Hawkeyes

• The Hawkeyes have a 6-2 record to open the season after finishing runner-up at the Las Vegas Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend as they defeated 12th-ranked Texas Tech, 72-61, before falling to San Diego State, 83-73, in the championship game. Following the holiday, Iowa traveled to Syracuse in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and won, 68-54.
• Luka Garza leads the Big Ten in scoring at 20.0 points per game and also is pulling down 10.0 rebounds per contest, third best in the conference. He is shooting 56.8 percent from the field.
• Two other Hawkeyes, C.J. Frederick and Joe Wieskamp, are scoring in double figures. Frederick and Wieskamp are both scoring 11.1 points per contest.
• Despite offseason hip surgery, Jordan Bohannon has played in seven games (three starts). He leads the Hawkeyes with 16 three-point field goals, while scoring 9.7 points per game.
• Iowa leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally with 18.3 assists per game. Connor McCaffery is averaging a team-best 4.8 assists per contest, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

The All-Time Series with Iowa

• Friday's game will be the 160th all-time meeting between Michigan and Iowa.
• The Wolverines lead, 95-64, in the all-time series as U-M has won four of the last five meetings. U-M holds a 52-24 record in Ann Arbor and snapped a two-game skid in the series with a 74-58 win last season. U-M holds a 36-40 record in Iowa City and has lost six of its last seven at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. U-M holds a 7-0 in neutral-site games with all seven coming in the Big Ten Tournament
• There have been 15 games when both teams were ranked in the top 25 with U-M leading, 8-7, in those contests. The last time both teams played while ranked was Feb. 8, 2014, when No. 10/17 Michigan lost to No. 17/14 Iowa, 85-67 (-18), at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• There have been 29 games decided by three points or fewer with U-M leading, 18-11. The last time a game was decided by fewer than three points was a 86-83 U-M overtime loss on Jan. 1, 2017, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• There have been 12 overtime games with U-M holding an 8-4 advantage. The last time there was an extra period was a 77-71 Wolverine win in the Big Ten Tournament on March 1, 2018. After a Jordan Bohannon triple to tie the game as time expired, the Hawkeyes went cold in OT and the Wolverines advanced and eventually won their second straight B1G Tournament title.
• Largest U-M Victory: 31 points (127-96) at Crisler Center, March 10, 1990
• Largest U-M Loss: 28 points (94-66) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, on Feb. 4, 2006
• U-M Victories by 10 Points or More: 34 | U-M Losses by 10 Points or More: 30
• U-M's average margin of victory: 9.2 points | losses: 10.1 points

Wolverine Quick Hitters

• Michigan will pause its non-conference schedule for a pair of Big Ten games -- home against Iowa (Dec. 6) and at Illinois (Dec. 11). One of the reasons for the early conference weekend was the expansion of the schedule to 20 games.
• Zavier Simpson leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation with 8.9 assists per game.
• With three assists at No. 1 Louisville (ACC/B1G Challenge), Simpson became the fourth Wolverines to reach 500 in a career, joining Gary Grant (731), Rumeal Robinson (575), Antoine Joubert (539) and Simpson (502).
• Simpson has not missed a game in his four-year career -- 124 straight.
• After earning MVP honors at the Battle 4 Atlantis, Jon Teske was named the Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week by the USBWA as well as the Big Ten's Co-Player of the Week. This season, he is averaging a near double-double with 13.9 points and 9.8 boards.

Four in Seven

• Michigan just completed a four-games-in-seven-days stretch with three straight games at the Battle 4 Atlantis followed with a road game at No 1-ranked Louisville.
• The four-game stretch ended with the Wolverines battling three straight top-eight ranked teams -- No. 6/4 North Carolina (W, 73-64), No. 8/7 Gonzaga (W, 82-64) and at No. 1/1 Louisville (L, 58-43).
• After suffering its first loss of the season to end the stretch, U-M coach Juwan Howard was asked if the three straight games and travel home then to Louisville affected the Wolverines. Howard answered immediately, "We don't make excuses, sir."
• The Wolverines continue their strongest stretch of the non-conference schedule with a pair of Big Ten games -- against Iowa (Dec. 6) and at Illinois (Dec. 11). U-M then hosts No. 13/14 Oregon at Crisler Center on Dec. 14.
• Following that three-game set, the Maize and Blue closes the month and 2019 with two games over the final two weeks -- Presbyterian College (Dec. 21) and UMass Lowell (Dec. 29).

Getting Defensive ... For a Third Straight Year

• U-M will look to continue to be one of the nation's top defensive teams for a third straight season.
• Last season, U-M finished with the second-best defensive efficiency rating according to Ken Pom, trailing only Texas Tech (national runner-up) for the nation's lead. The Maize and Blue was third in 2017-18.
• After the game at No. 1 Louisville, U-M is listed seventh in defense according to Ken Pom.
• U-M opponents are averaging 65.0 points per game, as the Wolverines have allowed 70 points or more in just two games with a season-high 76 vs. Iowa State (Battle 4 Atlantis). Last year, U-M allowed 70-plus points just five times.
• Michigan's opponents are averaging 4.9 (39 total) three-pointers per game and shooting 29.1 percent from long range.
• The Wolverines has held an opponent to five three-pointers or fewer in four games.
• U-M forces its opponents into 11.8 turnovers per game.
• Michigan has balanced its defense with 41 total blocks (5.1 bpg) and 44 total steals (5.5 spg). U-M has had its shot blocked only 12 times (1.5 bpg).