By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan coach John Beilein
was upset. Senior forward Max
Bielfeldt had just been called
for an offensive foul, and the
referees
gave
an
Iowa player
a
timeout
as he was falling out of bounds.
Little did Beilein know, that
would be the least of his concerns
on Thursday night.
The Wolverines went the last
6:58 of the first half without
a basket while Iowa scored 12
straight points to hold a 31-19
lead. Freshman guard Aubrey
Dawkins
finally
broke
that
spurt with two free throws, but
Michigan’s cold shooting and
inability to solve Iowa’s 2-3 zone
proved too much in a 72-54 loss.
“They were very, very good
and
we
weren’t
nearly
as
efficient or even close to being
good,” Beilein said. “It’s for a lot
of reasons, most of it just having
a bad day. But (we) were just
overwhelmed with their timing,
their talent, their length, their
size. It was a close game until
they went zone.”
With the Hawkeyes using
a 2-3 zone in the first half,
Michigan (6-5 Big Ten, 13-10
overall)
constantly
had
issues getting the ball into
the paint, instead settling for
contested long-range jumpers.
Meanwhile, Iowa (5-4, 13-9)
had no problem getting the ball
down low, scoring 20 points in
the paint in the first half and
42 for the game, in addition to
outrebounding Michigan, 33-17.
Michigan had faced lengthy
zone
defenses
before,
but
without junior guard Caris
LeVert playing, it was more
difficult for the Wolverines to
face the zone without a passer
like LeVert who can see the open
man cutting toward the basket.
“I don’t think it’s as much
about them than us,” Beilein
said. “This is a good zone, we
have areas we just have to get
better at, and some of it might
be schematic, others just seeing
the spots that are open, driving
where you can shoot it. We just
weren’t efficient. It’s an area we
need to work at.”
Beilein tried to halt the 12-0
run before it really ballooned.
After
Iowa
forward
Jarrod
Uthoff drove through a wide-
open lane for a dunk with 4:33
left, he called timeout, but it
didn’t help much.
Michigan’s
next
two
possessions resulted in airballs
from junior guard Spike Abrecht
and sophomore forward Zak
Irvin. The trend of ugly, off-
balance shots held true until the
Wolverines’ final possession of
the half.
Iowa
forward Aaron
White
was
assessed
two
technical fouls
in the second
half, with the
second coming
after he hung
on
the
rim
after a dunk. The latter didn’t
get White ejected, however,
because it was assessed as a
Class B technical foul.
Though Michigan managed a
7-0 run with White subbed out
and at one point cut the deficit
down to nine, Iowa answered
with five straight points.
“We had a little run in the
second half, and then they got
one or two offensive rebounds,
brought it back out, starting
(to run) their offense, and it’s
so tough,” Bielfeldt said. “You
know, it’s like the old Wisconsin
teams, where we put on a
36-second shot clock and they
get that second rebound and run
their action for 36 seconds. It’s
not easy to guard.”
Even with Michigan shooting
better in the second half — 40.4
percent, compared to 34.8 in the
first — Iowa proved to be too hot
for Michigan to handle.
The
Hawkeyes
shot
62.7
percent for the game and 72
percent in the second half to
close out the Wolverines. Five
Iowa players scored in double
digits, while Dawkins (16) and
Albrecht (10) were Michigan’s
lone double-digit scorers.
Beilein and the Wolverines
threw a mix of defensive schemes
at Iowa in an attempt to stop its
offensive dominance, but unlike
in past games, there wasn’t an
in-game fix that could solve the
problem and win the game.
Michigan was too “average”
trying
to
find
temporary
solutions
to
the
Hawkeyes’
offensive juggernaut, according
to Beilein.
While
Michigan
suffered
its worst home defeat since
December
2010, a 23-point
loss to Purdue,
it didn’t make
a
difference
where
the
Wolverines
played
the
game — they
weren’t
going
to win.
“They’re
a
really
good
team,” Beilein said. “They were
better than us tonight, without
question. Home court, away
court, didn’t make a difference.
They were better than us.”
8 — Friday, February 6, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Max Bielfeldt scored all four of the points between the three big men as Michigan faced a severe size disadvantage.
Wolverines beaten and bruised in loss
IOWA
MICHIGAN
72
54
“They were
better than us
tonight.”