Iowa, Michigan out to build on close conference wins

The Michigan Wolverines welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon, with both teams coming off close wins on the first night of Big Ten play.

Coach Dusty May's Wolverines (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) took down the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers 67-64 on Tuesday in Michigan's first ranked road game of the season, following two wins at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida.

The Maize and Blue defeated the Badgers behind 20 points and five assists from Danny Wolf, with 11 of his points and all five assists coming in the second half of a back-and-forth contest.

"He really is a guard in a seven-footer's body, the way he dribbles the way he shoots it the way he can create space," May said about Wolf. "We're trying to figure out what's our best plan of attack in a half court and that in in a small sample size had been a really efficient attack for us."

It's the first win in the May era for the Wolverines, who got 24 points from Vladislav Goldin.

Now they welcome the Hawkeyes (7-1, 1-0), who travel to Ann Arbor on the back of a buzzer-beater win over the Northwestern Wildcats on Tuesday.

Josh Dix hit a 3-pointer to give Iowa the 80-79 victory, part of a 22-point night with six assists. With 15 seconds remaining, Brock Harding had a chance to put the Hawkeyes level with Northwestern with a free throw after a layup but missed it. Northwestern then added to its lead before Dix's game-winner.

Iowa helped the game stay close, giving up six turnovers in the second half, leading to eight points for Northwestern.

"We just have to play you know play better and keep being aggressive," Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said. "The bottom line is at this level you can't turn the ball over."

--Field Level Media