“We are officially a basketball school” is the saying that has been coming out of every Michigan student’s mouth as the Wolverines’ successful basketball season continues on. Ranked number four in the Big Ten standings, Michigan Men’s Basketball is 8-1 so far in their season. High scorers Isaiah Livers, Jon Teske, and Zavier Simpson have led the team to consecutive wins over schools like Gonzaga, North Carolina, and Iowa. Their one loss was to Louisville, the number one ranked team in the Big Ten Conference.
This loss occurred in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday, December 3rd. With the home field advantage, the Louisville Cardinals took the win over the Michigan Wolverines 58-43. Jon Teske was the leading scorer of the night, gaining eighteen points and ten rebounds for the Wolverines. The Wolverine defense kept the team in the game while the offense struggled to muster points against the Cardinal defense. Michigan’s shooting percentage was 26% and Louisville’s was 37% for the night. All in all, neither team played their best.
On the following Friday, December 6th, the Iowa Hawkeyes came to the Crisler Center in hopes of a win against the Wolverines. However, the Wolverines had another plan and bounced back from their previous loss in the week to pull a high scoring win of 103-91 with six double digit scorers including Jon Teske-16, Franz Wagner- 16, Isaiah Livers- 14, Brandon Johns Jr.- 12, Zavier Simpson- 11, and Eli Brooks-11. Michigan’s offense never let Iowa get too close in score, keeping them 8 to 10 points away at all times. The Wolverines’ shooting percentage for the night was 55%. Michigan’s defense played just as well as their offense, only allowing for the Hawkeyes to attempt four three-point shots in the first half. The Wolverines overcame Iowa junior center Luke Garza’s career-high of 44 points and took their win of over 100 points for the second time this year, truly showing their number four ranking is well-deserved.
Images courtesy of Gannet-CDN