Wolverines 87, Iowa 73
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) The Wolverines extend their winning streak over Iowa, beating the Hawkeyes 87-73 in Ann Arbor Sunday afternoon.
Darius Morris posted a triple double, scoring 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists-only the third Michigan player to land a triple double. Speaking post-game on WWJ Newsradio 950, Morris said, "We wanted to show (that the Michigan State win) was not a fluke."
Morris grabbed his 10th rebound in the final seconds to become the first Michigan player with a triple-double since Manny Harris on Nov. 14, 2009. Gary Grant also had one in the 1987 NCAA tournament against North Carolina.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. had 19 points for Michigan to contribute to the win, bringing the Wolverines to an overall record of 13-9 (3-6 Big Ten).
Head coach John Beilein spoke on WWJ's 950 post-game, "Really a team effort, Iowa was a really impressive team....we just try to read a teams tempo," said Beilein in describing the win.
The Wolverines led 35-32 after a first half that included 13 lead changes. There were none in the second. Evan Smotrycz made a pair of quick 3-pointers and Hardaway added one, and a three- point play by Morris made it 55-39.
Michigan played Iowa three times in each of the last three seasons, winning seven of the nine meetings and all three in 2009- 10. This was the first meeting this season.
Melsahn Basabe had a career-high 25 points and eight rebounds for Iowa. The Hawkeyes (8-13, 1-8) have lost eight of nine overall and five straight to Michigan.
The first game since beating Michigan State Spartans on Thursday in E. Lansing, many felt that win would be meaningless if the Wolverines could not win this game, making the Spartan win a rallying point for the young Woverine team.
(Copyright 2010 WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
