Hawkeyes jumped on Michigan early and often to earn fifth-straight double-digit win

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Keegan Murray had leg cramps the last time Iowa played Michigan.

Ever since the No. 24 Hawkeyes lost 84-79 to the Wolverines that Feb. 17 night, it’s been Iowa that has delivered the pain to the opponents. That continued Thursday night when Murray scored 23 points, his brother had 19, and their team got its fifth-straight win by double-digits.

It was 82-71 over Michigan at Crisler Center, a game in which the Hawkeyes scored first, pulled away quickly, withstood a late challenge, and won to get to 12-7 in the Big Ten, 22-8 overall.

Hawkeye senior guard Jordan Bohannon made 5 of 7 3-pointers, including a pair within 14 seconds of each other that shot Iowa’s lead to 55-36. The second came after one of Iowa’s 10 steals.

“I love having the ball in my hands during transition,” Bohannon said, “having the opportunity to pull up from three. That’s just what I’ve always been feeling comfortable with since I’ve been here.”

Bohannon had 19 points on just eight field goal tries. Keegan Murray’s 23 points came on a mere nine shots from the field. Kris Murray took 11 shots, had 19 points. Economy and punch.

Keegan Murray had eight points before the first TV timeout after swishing a pair of 3s. He had 13 points when Kris Murray entered the game. Unlike in Iowa’s previous four games, Kris wasn’t shut out in the first half. He came in and had two straight buckets to make it 26-11, and had an eight-point half on his way to 19.

“I seemed to play more loose,” Kris Murray said. “I made a couple layups to start it out. That helped me gain a lot of confidence.”

The biggest basket of the game was when Kris hit an open 3 off a pass from his brother out of a double-team in the post to make it 76-66 with 2:31 left.

The defensive work of Iowa against Michigan big men Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate, done mainly by the Murrays with help from Connor McCaffery, changed the script from the loss to the Wolverines at Iowa. Freshman forward Diabate had 28 points that night. He was bottled here, 2-of-9 for four points.

“That kind of left a sour taste in my mouth,” Keegan Murray said. “In the second half I had cramps and wasn’t able to play much.

“I really just wanted to put my foot on the pedal at the start of this game. I just had confidence going in.”

Iowa shot 60 percent in the first half, and made 7 of 10 3s in building a 37-20 lead. When Michigan did finally get within single-digits?

“We didn’t panic,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery.

They didn’t come close to panicking, actually.

Starting sophomore guard Tony Perkins played 14 second-half minutes and continued his recent strong play with 13 points and two steals.

“I think he’s in a really good place,” McCaffery said.

“Early in the Big Ten season,” Keegan Murray said, “a lot of guys were kind of new to the scenario. A lot of our players are adapting to the Big Ten grind, what it takes to win games.”

Kris Murray, Perkins and backup point guard Ahron Ulis didn’t play a lot last season, and didn’t play at all in front of hostile Big Ten crowds. Perkins has added elements to Iowa’s attack lately.

And when Kris Murray is performing stride for stride with his brother as he did Thursday, opponents reel.

“When you’re aggressive at both ends of the floor,” Bohannon said, referring to Kris Murray’s play, “that’s a nightmare for the other team.”

“My confidence is really high,” Kris Murray said, and he may as well have been speaking for his entire team. Five straight wins in the Big Ten isn’t an every-old-year deal for the Hawkeyes or most other teams in the league. Winning all five by at least 10 points, well, that’s different.

“We’re just playing our game,” Bohannon said.

They may want to keep playing it. Iowa finishes the regular season Sunday night at No. 20 Illinois, the league’s second-place club. If the Hawkeyes win, they’re assured a bye to next Friday’s quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

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