Wolverines, Gophers to Square Off in Second Big Ten Tournament Semifinal

» No. 3 seed Michigan defeated No. 6 seed Iowa, 74-53, in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal to advance and face No. 7 seed Minnesota in the semifinals.
» Michigan has reached the semifinal round for the fourth straight year.
» U-M's win over Iowa extended its Big Ten Tournament winning streak to nine games -- a conference tournament record.
» The Wolverines are 8-8 in Big Ten Tournament games played at the United Center.

NEXT GAME
Saturday, March 16 -- vs. #7 seed Minnesota - Big Ten Tournament Semifinal (Chicago, Ill.), 2:30 p.m. CDT

The 10th-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (27-5, 15-5 Big Ten) earned the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a double bye. The Wolverines defeated Iowa in the quarterfinal round, 74-53, to advance to the semifinals against No. 7 seed Minnesota on Saturday (March 16). In a CBS broadcast, tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CDT with Jim Nantz (p-by-p), Bill Raftery (analyst), Grant Hill (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline) on the call.

What Happened in the Quarterfinal

• Michigan's 74-53 victory extended the Wolverines' winning streak to nine in a row at the Big Ten Tournament. U-M has never lost to Iowa in the BTT (7-0).
• U-M also posted its 13th consecutive victory in an opening conference tournament game. John Beilein has never lost the first game of the conference tournament, winning 12 straight.
• Thursday night against Illinois, Iowa had 12 three-point field goals. Michigan allowed the Hawkeyes just one trey in 16 attempts. That one was a banked in triple when the benches were cleared in the final minute.
• U-M held Iowa's Jordan Bohannon scoreless, as he went 0-for-2 in the game. It was just the second time this season the Hawkeyes' third leading scorer was held without a point.
• Michigan had 24 assists on 28 baskets against Iowa. Zavier Simpson had 11 assists, the second-best total in Michigan's Big Ten Tournament history (Derrick Walton Jr. had 12 vs. Indiana, 3/11/16). Simpson finished with 10 points and did not miss a shot all night (4-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 free throws). It was his fifth double-double of the season.
• Jon Teske recorded his seventh double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Ignas Brazdeikis led U-M with 15 points as five Wolverines scored in double figures -- Brazdeikis (15), Isaiah Livers (13, off bench), Teske (12), Jordan Poole (11) and Simpson (10).
• Charles Matthews returned after missing three games with a right ankle injury. He had five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 25 minutes.
• Eli Brooks came off the bench to score six points -- two three-pointers -- while grabbing three rebounds, dishing three assists, and swiping two steals.

Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament

• Michigan has won the last two Big Ten Tournament titles.
• The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed and earned their first double bye.
• In 2017, following a well-documented pre-tournament plane crash, U-M won four games in four days to win the title and, as the No. 8-seed, became the lowest seed ever to win.
• In 2018, U-M defended its title, winning four games in four days for a second straight year to become the first No. 5 seed to win the title.
• U-M is the third program to win back-to-back titles at the conference tournament.
• U-M has defeated the No. 1 seed in the last three Big Ten Tournaments. U-M defeated top seeds Indiana (72-69) in 2016, Purdue (74-70 OT) in 2017 and Michigan State (75-64) in 2018.

The B1G Record Streak

• After opening the 2019 Big Ten Tournament with a 74-53 win over Iowa, Michigan has won its last nine Big Ten Tournament games.
• Michigan won four games in four days in back-to-back years to win two consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018.
• U-M's nine straight wins pass Ohio State for the longest unbeaten streak in the conference tournament. The next closest is Michigan State (six in 1999-2000).

These Are Just Cool Stuff

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 111 straight.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in two seasons -- a streak of 73 straight.
• Simpson (392) moved into 11th all-time on U-M's assist list, passing Manny Harris (366; 2007-10).
• Simpson needs six assists to crack the all-time top 10 (Dion Harris, 398, 2004-07) and eight more to become the 10th Wolverines to reach 400 in a career (full listing is in separate note, keep reading).
• After not recording an assist against Minnesota (Jan. 22), Simpson has 110 dimes (7.8 apg) in the following 14 games with five of his six games with double digits.
• Simpson has six games of 10-plus assists. He needs one more to tie the program record of seven held by Darius Morris in the 2010-11 season.
• Simpson is second in the Big Ten in assists (6.4) with 205. He leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.3 (205 to 61). The last U-M player to record 200-plus assists was Trey Burke in 2012-13 (260)
• Simpson (120) became the 23rd Wolverine to reach 100 steals in a career. He needs 15 more to reach the top 10 all-time at U-M -- Thad Garner (1979-82) and Dion Harris (2004-07) are 10th at 135.
• Matthews (893) needs 107 more points to become the 55th Wolverine to score 1,000 career points.
• Jordan Poole (107) is the 27th Wolverine to make 100-plus three-pointers in a career.
• Jon Teske leads U-M with seven double-doubles, while Zavier Simpson is second with five.
• Ignas Brazdeikis leads U-M with 15.0 points per game. The last Wolverine freshman to lead the team in scoring was Trey Burke, who scored 14.8 points per game in the 2012-13 season. Brazdeikis has scored in double figures over his last seven straight. He leads U-M with 27 double-figure games including 10 20-plus outings.

Up Next

Sunday, March 17 (if advance) -- vs. #1 seed Michigan State or #4 seed Wisconsin - Big Ten Tournament Final (Chicago, Ill.), 2:30 p.m. CDT (TV: CBS)
Sunday, March 17 -- NCAA Selection Show (CBS), 6 p.m. EDT