No. 16 Iowa Beats Michigan, 82-71
LUKE MEREDITH, AP Sports Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A week filled with upsets will likely cause a major shakeup when the Top 25 is released on Monday.
One beneficiary should be Iowa, which is back atop the Big Ten after yet another impressive win.
Jarrod Uthoff scored 23 points and the 16th-ranked Hawkeyes beat Michigan 82-71 on Sunday for its first 5-0 start in the Big Ten in 19 years.
Peter Jok had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for surging Iowa (14-3, 5-0), who could be poised to push for its highest ranking since cracking the Top 10 two years ago.
"The key is to keep coming down and giving your team a chance," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "I thought our shot selection was really good, and we hit some key shots."
Iowa, which has won seven straight, broke open a tight game with a 16-3 run midway through the second half. Jok then buried a 3-pointer that made it 76-68 with 2:34 left.
Derrick Walton Jr. had 16 points for Michigan (13-5, 3-2). The Wolverines played their fourth straight game without star Caris LeVert, who was out with a left leg injury.
"What is really separating them right now is the bench play," Michigan coach John Beilein said of the Hawkeyes, who got 22 points from reserves. "They were the better team than us without question. We fought hard."
Iowa's 76-59 blowout win at No. 4 Michigan State earlier in the week further cemented the Hawkeyes status as a legitimate Big Ten contender.
Iowa avoided a letdown against the Wolverines — who were coming off a 70-67 upset of No. 3 Maryland — and joined Indiana atop the league at 5-0.
Perhaps the most encouraging development for the Hawkeyes was that their crucial run came with the likes of Uthoff and point guard Mike Gesell on the bench.
Jok and Anthony Clemmons hit consecutive 3s, and Jok buried another one from the corner to make it 63-52 with 9 minutes left.
"We're taking stuff we've done poorly in the past and improving on it," Iowa's Adam Woodbury said.
The Hawkeyes opened with an 11-0 run and looked set for another easy win.
But even without LeVert, Michigan showed that it's still explosive by scoring 13 straight points to take a 21-20 lead. The Wolverines also scored on six straight possessions early in the second half, hopping back on top 49-47.
Aubrey Dawkins had 12 points for Michigan, which lost for just the second time in nine games after forcing only four turnovers.
"I felt like we softened a bit after the 11-0 start. Start of the second half, they were on fire," McCaffery said. "No turnovers in the second half (means) you've got a chance."
TIP-INS
Michigan: The Wolverines' win over Maryland was their first at home over a top-five team since 1997. ... LeVert is Michigan's leading scorer at 17.6 points per game. ... Duncan Robinson hit a 30-footer at the first-half buzzer, but it was waved off.
Iowa: By beating Michigan State twice in just over two weeks, the Hawkeyes became the first team since Duke and Kentucky in 1965 to beat the same top-five opponent by at least 10 points in a given season. ... Dating to last season, Iowa has won 11 straight regular-season conference games, its longest such streak since 1970.
STAT LINES
Woodbury scored 12 points and Dom Uhl had 10 for Iowa, which has won four of its first five Big Ten games by at least 11 points. ... Zak Irvin had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Wolverines.
QUOTABLE
"We didn't worry about him as a freshman. Now, all of a sudden, he's (former Michigan star) Tim Hardaway III out there," Beilein said of Jok.
UP NEXT
Michigan hosts Minnesota on Wednesday.
Iowa plays at Rutgers on Thursday.
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