Wolverines to Close Big Ten Road Swing with Rematch at Iowa

Friday, January 17

Iowa City, Iowa

8:00 PM CT

Michigan

Iowa

Brandon Johns Jr. (Michigan Photography)

Wolverines to Close Big Ten Road Swing with Rematch at Iowa

1/15/2020 5:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» No. 19 Michigan hits the road for its second straight game, and fourth Big Ten road game, when it takes on Iowa on Friday (Jan. 17).
» The Wolverines defeated the Hawkeyes, 103-91, on Dec. 6 at Crisler Center.
» U-M and Iowa will meet for the 161st time. The Wolverines lead, 96-64, in the all-time series against the Hawkeyes.
» Guard Zavier Simpson, who is expected to play in his 133rd straight game, has 142 assists and averages 8.9 per game -- both are the most in the nation.
» Center Jon Teske leads U-M in scoring (14.3), rebounds (7.9), blocks (2.1) and steals (1.0).

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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team heads to Iowa City to take on Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday (Jan. 17). The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff on FS1 with Brandon Gaudin (p-by-p) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) as the broadcast crew.

What You Need to Know for Friday's Game

• Friday's game will be the second meeting of the season between Michigan and Iowa.
• The Wolverines, who are 0-4 on the road this season, will be looking to win their first true road game.
• U-M restarted its Big Ten season with a road game against Michigan State on Jan. 6 and is the midst of a stretch of playing four of its first seven conference games on the road.
• Zavier Simpson is expected to play in his 133rd consecutive game; he has not missed a game in his four-year career. He leads the nation with 142 assists and an 8.9 per-game average. He adds a career-best 12.6 points per game.
• Simpson (573) needs just three assists to move into sole possession of the second spot on U-M's all-time list, currently held by Antoine Joubert (575). This season, Simpson has had five 10+ assist games and has eight assists or more in each of his last seven games.
• In five Big Ten games, Simpson his missed a total of 18 minutes, averaging 38.4 per game.
• Jon Teske leads U-M in scoring (14.3), rebounding (7.9), blocks (2.1) and steals (1.0).
• Over his last four games, freshman Franz Wagner has scored in double figures three times, averaging 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds and knocking down nine of his 19 total three-pointers.
• Since restarting the Big Ten season, the ranking of Michigan's regular-season schedule has vaulted into the top five in the country -- second - (ESPN's BPI), second (Sagarin) and fourth (KenPom).

Earlier This Season ... U-M defeats Iowa, 103-91

• Michigan opened its Big Ten season and early conference weekend defeating Iowa, 103-91, at Crisler Center on Dec. 6. It was U-M's second 100-point game of the season and first against a Big Ten team in 21 years -- U-M defeated Indiana, 112-64 on Feb. 22, 1998.
• The Wolverines had six players score in double figures, including all five starters, in the high-scoring affair. Franz Wagner led U-M with his career-best 18 points, thanks to a 9-for-10 performance from the free-throw line. Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson each had 16 points, Isaiah Livers had 14, Eli Brooks had 13, and sophomore Brandon Johns Jr. had 12 off the bench.
• For Iowa, Luka Garza scored a career-best 44 points going 17-for-32 and 10-for-13 from the free-throw line. Connor McCaffery was the only other Hawkeye in double figures with 12.
• For the game, U-M shot 55.2 percent -- 54.8 percent in the first half (17-for-31) and 55.6 percent in the second (15-for-27).
• The Wolverines held the Hawkeyes to a 3-for-15 night from the three-point land.

Who are the Iowa Hawkeyes?

• Iowa brings a 12-5 overall record, including a 3-3 mark in Big Ten play, into Friday night's contest after topping Northwestern on Tuesday, 75-62, for its second consecutive victory.
• Luka Garza is averaging a double-double to lead the way for the Hawkeyes with 22.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Garza leads the Big Ten in scoring and ranks second in the conference in rebounding. Garza has 10 double-doubles this season, tied for the most in the Big Ten and sixth-best in the nation.
• Joe Wieskamp and C.J. Fredrick also score in double figures for Iowa as Wieskamp is averaging 14.5 points per contest and Fredrick adds 10.4 points per game for the Hawkeyes, who are the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten at 79.3 points per game.
• Iowa ranks sixth in the nation with 18.1 assists per game, led by Connor McCaffery's 3.6 per contest, and are fourth in the country with a 1.51 assist-to-turnover ratio. Individually, McCaffery has a 4.36 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks second in the country.
• Fran McCaffery is in his 10th season as the head coach at Iowa, having guided the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, '15, '16 and '19. McCaffery also has taken Lehigh (1988), UNC Greensboro (2001) and Siena (2008, '09, '10) to the NCAA Tournament.

The All-Time Series with Iowa

• Friday's game will mark the 161st game in the all-time series between Michigan and Iowa. U-M leads, 96-64, in the all-time series against the Hawkeyes and have won the last two meetings, including a 103-91 win at Crisler Center on Dec. 6.
• U-M holds a 36-40 record in Iowa City, losing five of the last six meetings at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Michigan's NCAA sanctioned record vs. Iowa: 4-5
• There have been 29 games decided by three points or fewer with U-M leading, 18-11. The last game decided by fewer than three points was on Jan. 1, 2017, when the Hawkeyes defeated the Wolverines, 86-83, at Carver-Hawkeye.
• There have been 12 overtime games in the all-time series with U-M leading, 8-4. The last time there was an extra period was a 77-71 Wolverine win March 1, 2018,in the Big Ten Tournament. After a Jordan Bohannon triple to tie the game as time expired, the Hawkeyes went cold in the extra period and Michigan advanced and eventually won their second straight B1G Tournament title.
• Longest U-M win streak: nine games (Jan. 26, 1974-Feb. 25, 1978).
• Longest U-M losing streak: five games (three times)
• Largest U-M Victory: 31 points (127-96) at Michigan on March 10, 1990.
• Largest U-M Loss: 28 points (94-66) at Iowa on Feb. 4, 2006.
• U-M Victories by 10+ Points: 35 | U-M Losses by 10+ Points: 30
• U-M's average margin in wins: 9.2 | U-M's average margin in losses: 10.2
• All-Time U-M Points: 10,604 (66.3 per game) | All-Time Iowa Points: 10,370 (64.8 per game)

Closing in on a Historical Record

• Zavier Simpson is closing in on a unique U-M record as he could become the first Wolverine to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
• He needs 113 points to reach 1,000 (887)
• He needs 86 rebounds to reach 500 (414)
• He already has passed 500 assists (573)
• Below is a list of some of U-M's all-time great guards and their career totals:

Gary Grant (2,222 points, 455 rebounds, 731 assists)
Rumeal Robinson (1,446 points, 353 rebounds, 575 assists)
Derrick Walton Jr. (1,471 points, 562 rebounds, 499 assists)
Zavier Simpson (887 points, 414 rebounds, 573 assists)

One More Rung Up the Assist Ladder

• With 573 assists, Zavier Simpson is third on U-M's all-time assists list.
• He needs three to move into the second spot held by Rumeal Robinson (575).
• He needs 27 assists to become just the second Wolverine to reach 600 in a career.
• He needs 127 assists to become just the second Wolverine to reach 700 in a career.
• He needs 159 to become U-M's all-time leader held by Gary Grant (731).
• At his current rate of 8.9 per game, Simpson could collect 134 more assists before postseason play.
• In U-M's history there are 10 Wolverines with 400+ assists and four with 500+.

U-M's All-Time Assists List
1) Gary Grant (1985-88), 731
2) Rumeal Robinson (1988-90), 575
3) Zavier Simpson (2017- present), 573
4) Antoine Joubert (1984-87), 539
5) Derrick Walton Jr. (2014-17), 499