#24 Iowa 82, Michigan 71: Murray 2 Murray

By RossWB on March 4, 2022 at 12:03 am @rosswb
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© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The 2021-22 Iowa Haweyes can't stop, won't stop... winning Big Ten games, suckers. Iowa got big games from Keegan and Kris Murray, some sharp shooting from Jordan Bohannon, and more strong minutes from Tony Perkins and that was enough to carry them to an 82-71 victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Thursday night, their 22nd of the season -- and a new record for most regular-season wins for the Hawkeyes in the Fran McCaffery Era. 

Iowa grabbed the lead inside of the first minute -- and never trailed the entire game. They used some strong shooting to start the game (and some sluggish shooting from Michigan) to open up a quick lead (13-4 in the first five minutes)... and then kept building it. Iowa shot 60% (18/30) from the floor in the first half and a beyond-sizzling 70% (7/10) from beyond the arc, thanks to some red hot efforts from Keegan Murray (3/3) and Jordan Bohannon (3/4). That all-flames shooting display, coupled with some stingy defense (Iowa had five blocks in the first half and did well at contesting Michigan shots) helped the Hawkeyes open up a very comfortable 47-30 lead at the break. 

In the second half, Michigan's shots started finding their mark. And then they wouldn't stop finding their mark. At one point Michigan was shooting 75% from the floor and they were making everything they put up; layups near the rim, open jumpers, contested three-pointers... it didn't matter what the shot was, it was probably going to find the bottom of the net. Overall Michigan ended up shooting 64% from the floor in the second half, though that number was deflated a bit by a few misses near the end of the game. For a while Iowa was able to answer Michigan's offensive punches with counterpunches of their own and they kept the Wolverines at bay; unfortunately, that didn't last, though. Michigan's defense stepped up the intensity a bit and got five blocks and forced seven Iowa turnovers. That, coupled with Iowa's red-hot shooters cooling off (Iowa shot just 44% in the second half), turned a would-be rout into an uncomfortably close game. 

Michigan's surge got the lead down to seven with three minutes to play at 73-66. The Wolverines were in the midst of an 11-2 run and seemed poised to turn the final few minutes of the game into a complete nail-biter. Then Kris Murray hit one of his biggest shots of the season, draining a 3-pointer to push Iowa's lead back out to 10 points with 2:29 to play.

Michigan answered back with a Caleb Houston three-pointer of their own and forced Iowa into a turnover on their next possessions (a 10-second call), but Iowa's defense -- unable to get stops for pretty much the entire second half -- finally roared to life. The defense got their hands on passes on back-to-back Michigan possessions, forcing a pair of turnovers and preventing Michigan from cutting the Iowa lead to 4 or 5 points. A Kris Murray layup (off a beautiful pass from Keegan Murray) pushed Iowa's lead back to nine points with 49 seconds to play. At that point Iowa finally had some breathing room. Two pairs of Bohannon free throws finished off the scoring for Iowa as they secured another quality win in what's becoming a sensational stretch run. 

The Murrays were simply magnificent in this game; their twin powers were on full display tonight. Keegan led the way with 23 points on a stupidly efficient 7/9 shooting performance (4/4 from 3-point range!; 5/6 from the free throw line), while also grabbing seven rebounds, dishing three assists, swatting three shots, and grabbing a steal. 

Kris wasn't far behind Keegan, though, as he had 19 points on 9/11 shooting (!), 6 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and an assist. He hit the biggest shots of the game for Iowa late in the second half, but that was just the cherry on top; he was excellent from beginning to end in this game.

There are a lot of amazing things about Keegan and Kris, but two things stood out about their performances tonight: the smoothness of their games and their utter unflappability. Both Keegan and Kris just glide across the floor and have the ability to make the game look easy (when it very much isn't), which really makes them a joy to behold. And they just don't seem to panic on the court -- ever. They took turns slicing through the Michigan defense tonight and when they weren't going through the Michigan defenders they were draining threes over top of them. I mean, that combined stat line is utterly absurd: 

42 points on 16/20 shooting (!), 5/6 3FG, 5/6 FT, 13 rebounds (3 offensive), 4 assists, 4 blocks, 3 steals

Absolute video game shit. 

Jordan Bohannon also had one of his best games of the season, popping off for 19 points on 5/8 shooting, including 5/7 from 3-point range. For a brief stretch, he went full "Caitlin Clark in Crisler" and was draining logo 3s and swishing pull-up 3s like they were layups.

An engaged Bohannon whose shot is falling is definitely a strong asset for this Iowa team. Iowa also got another excellent game from Tony Perkins, who had 13 points on 5/10 shooting, as well as 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist.

The confidence Perkins has been playing with the last few weeks has been very noticeable -- and his ascension has really helped Iowa hit a new gear this season. 

This team is just fun to watch right now. They're hitting the glass hard (though they did get out-rebounded slightly in this game, 31-29), they're playing defensive with much more intensity, and the offensive is absolutely firing on all cylinders right now. This is a damn good team playing some of its very best basketball at the best possible time of the season to do so. 

I mean, this team is just cooking opponents right now. They've won eight of the last nine and the closest victory of those eight wins was the 10-point win over Nebraska last Friday. Their average margin of victory in that stretch is 17.3 ppg; they aren't just winning games, they're beating the brakes off their opponents. But tonight they did get tested in the second half by Michigan and while the game never got that close -- the Wolverines never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, or even a chance to make it a one-possession game -- Iowa did still make the plays they needed on offense and defense late in the game to secure the victory, which was good to see. 

This win preserved Iowa's hopes of a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. In fact, things look pretty straightforward on that item at this point: 

  • if Iowa beats Illinois on Sunday, they'll secure a Top-4 seed and a double-bye
  • If Iowa loses to Illinois, they need Ohio State and Rutgers to also lose on Sunday in order to be able to get a Top-4 seed and a double-bye

Rutgers and Ohio State both play earlier in the day on Sunday, so Iowa will know well before tip-off against Illinois whether or not they need to win in order to get that double-bye. But even if they get help from Penn State and Michigan against Rutgers and Ohio State on Sunday, I expect this Iowa team to come out firing away against the Illini. When you're on a run like this, you don't want it to end. We sure don't. 

NEXT: Iowa faces #21 Illinois (21-8, 14-5 Big Ten) in Champaign, IL on Sunday, March 7 at 6:30 PM CT on FS1. 

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