Michigan
13-10, 6-5
Iowa
14-8, 5-4
First-Half Drought Dooms Wolverines in Home Loss to Hawkeyes
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2015
• Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
• Beilein Postgame Press Conference 
| Highlights
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Iowa 72, Michigan 54
Records: U-M (13-10, 6-5 Big Ten), Iowa (14-8, 5-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 12,490
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 8 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 1 p.m. [ TV: CBS ]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Aubrey Dawkins scored 16 points and knocked down four three-pointers, but Iowa closed out the first half on a 12-0 run and never looked back, as the University of Michigan men's basketball team fell, 72-54, on Thursday night (Feb. 5) inside Crisler Center.
Freshman Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman ended the night with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, and junior Spike Albrecht was U-M's final scorer in double-figures, finishing with 10 points and five assists.
Junior Zak Irvin swished a baseline jumper for the first shot attempt of the game, but the Hawkeyes answered with two straight baskets to take a 4-2 lead two minutes in. A little more than a minute later, Abdur-Rahkman drained a corner three to start an 8-0 Michigan run, and Irvin capped it off with a triple that put U-M on top, 12-6, with 14:10 left in the first half.
Freshman Kameron Chatman made a driving layup to make the score 14-8 at 12:50, but Iowa responded with a 10-2 run to take an 18-16 lead, before Chatman scored again to tie the game with less than eight minutes before halftime. Albrecht knocked down a three from the right wing to put U-M ahead 21-19, but those were Michigan's final points of the period, as Iowa closed out the half with 12 unanswered points, including six from Aaron White, to control a 31-21 advantage heading into the break.
The Wolverines shot 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) before the intermission and made 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from three. The Hawkeyes went 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) in the first half and shot 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Abdur-Rahkman made a runner in the lane to make the score 35-25 early in the second half, but Iowa scored seven straight points to go up 42-25 with 15:35 remaining in the game. Minutes later, White threw down a baseline dunk, but he hung on the rim and was called for a technical foul, and Albrecht made the ensuing free throws to cut the Hawkeye lead to 46-30 with 13:31 to play. Dawkins nailed a three on the next possession, then Irvin made a driving basket to make the score 46-35 12:26 remaining.
Dawkins hit another three to cut Michigan's deficit to 50-40, and then he made another triple with eight minutes left to shrink the Iowa lead to 52-43. Two free throws by Abdur-Rahkman made the score 57-45, but the Hawkeyes scored seven straight points to go up 64-45 with 4:34 remaining, and the Wolverines were unable to rally.
U-M finished the night shooting 19-of-47 (40.4 percent) from the floor and went 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from long range. Iowa shot 32-of-51 (62.7 percent) and made 4-of-11 attempts (36.4 percent) from downtown. Jarrod Uthoff led the Hawkeyes with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and he added a game-high nine rebounds.
Iowa won the rebounding battle, 33-17, scored 42 points in the paint and had all five starters score in double figures. Turnovers were low, as each team finished with six giveaways. Michigan shot 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
The Maize and Blue now travels to Bloomington on Sunday (Feb. 8) to take on Indiana inside Assembly Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be available on CBS.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot, Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423
