Iowa routs Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The numbers were superlative and shocking.

Iowa shot a season-high 62.7 percent from the floor and overwhelmed Michigan in every facet of a 72-54 beating at the Crisler Center last night. The 18-point margin-of-victory equaled Iowa's greatest spread in Ann Arbor, which last was achieved in 1954.

The Hawkeyes (14-8, 5-4 Big Ten) shot 72 percent in the second half. They outscored the Wolverines (13-10, 6-5 Big Ten) 42-16 in the paint. Iowa won the rebounding battle 33-17 and all five starters scored in double figures.

Iowa didn't even have its usual lift from the free-throw line, shooting just six times and making four. Iowa was ordinary from 3-point range with four triples. But what led to this unusual bludgeoning in a traditional house of horrors - Iowa had lost five straight at Crisler by an average of 15.8 points - was Iowa's inside-outside game and its defense.

'We felt like our bigs were playing well, and we felt like they were scoring well and throughout the game different things are going to happen, and we felt like we could exploit them a little bit that way,” Iowa point guard Mike Gesell said. 'They did a good job of getting open and pounding it inside.”

'We felt like we had to establish our ability to run our offense through the post and even if we threw it in and didn't shoot it, go in and out and get it swung and it was effective,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said.

After trailing for most of the first half, the Hawkeyes switched from man defense to zone and took control over the last seven minutes. Iowa ended the half on a 12-0 run that included crisp execution. The run started with Adam Woodbury putting back a Jarrod Uthoff miss to tie the game at 21-21. After a Michigan turnover, Iowa's Aaron White dunked a post feed from Woodbury to give Iowa the lead for good.

Michigan's Zak Irvin missed 3-point attempts on three consecutive possessions, one of which led to a Uthoff drive down the lane for a thunderous dunk. The Hawkeyes ended the half with three consecutive baskets in the paint, two of which were by White and the other by Gabe Olaseni. The last two featured nifty assists by Anthony Clemmons.

Iowa choked the life out of Michigan's offense late in the first half. The Wolverines failed to score on its final eight possessions, which included eight missed shots and two turnovers. Michigan struggled to get the ball inside against the Hawkeyes' taller frontcourt and attempted five 3-pointers in that span.

'It was really our defense,” said White, who scored 13. 'We really ramped up our defense. Our zone was good for us. We've got great length so I think we really used that both offensively and defensively. We got inside. I got more assertive there. I hadn't touched the ball for the first 10 minutes of the game almost. I kind of told Woody look for me down low, they've got smaller guys on me.

'Adam is a great passer so he loaded me up.”

Woodbury finished with 11 points, a career-high six assists and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Uthoff led Iowa with 16 points and nine rebounds. Gesell added 14.

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