When: Saturday, March 5th, 8:00pm EST
Where: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Coverage: BTN
Saturday, Iowa will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines. Iowa who is 20-9 heading into the game is looking to get on track after a pretty lengthy 4 game losing streak. Michigan on the other hand is looking to secure a spot in the big dance with a win over a top 25 team while celebrating Senior Day for injured stars, Caris Levert and Spike Albrecht.
It is hard to put into words, just how big this game is for the Wolverines. I would not say that it is a make or break game but in my opinion a win over #16 ranked Iowa should be enough to lock up a tournament spot for Beilein and Co. If the Wolverines lose tonight, they are going to need some help from the rest of the field to make a spot.
Michigan will enter Saturday’s game as a 1.5 point favorite. This comes as a shock due to the fact that the last time these teams met, Iowa won 82-71. A reason for Michigan’s favoritism from Vegas could be that Iowa has seriously struggled as of late. The struggles start with Iowa’s go to player forward, Jarrod Uthoff. Jarrod is still scoring decently but his shooting percentages of late have not been to pretty compared to earlier in the year. Iowa will be looking for Uthoff to come out on fire.
The Wolverines need a big game out of Zak Irvin if they are planning to come out on top. Irvin lead the team in points last Sunday with 14, but that was pretty much the only good news to come out of that game. Irvin has struggled a little as of late, a big game out of him will give him a major boost as the Wolverines hopefully head into postseason basketball.
Overall, this game is everything a basketball fan could want in a game. Two closely matched teams going head to head with both teams playing for a spot in the big dance. It is officially March, the mayhem may now begin.
Iowa 73 – Michigan 76
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Tony Ding
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