Michigan Basketball overcame a ton of turnovers to beat a good Iowa State team in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. What do they need to do to beat North Carolina in the semi-finals?
Michigan Basketball faced a tough Iowa State Cyclone team on Wednesday in the Bahamas but was able to take control in the second half to win the game and advance to a second-round matchup with the North Carolina Tar Heels. It will be the third straight year the two teams will meet.
Michigan won despite turning the ball over 22 times and allowing Tyrese Haliburton scoring a career-high 25 points. They were able to hold the Cyclones to just 24% shooting from the outside. It helped Michigan keep Iowa State from making a big run at them once they got up big.
Isaiah Livers led the way with 17 points despite not shooting the ball well. David DeJulius added a career-high 14 points off the bench and hit some clutch shots in the second half for the Wolverines. Zavier Simpson added a triple-double that included a tournament record 13 assists.
The win sends the Wolverines to the semifinals for a rubber match against North Carolina over the last three years. The last two times these teams played were during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with each team winning at home.
Last year Michigan beat the Tar Heels easily on their way to a school-record 17-0 start to the season. The Wolverines hope a big win against North Carolina again this year will vault them into a great season in Juwan Howard’s first as a head coach.
We take a look at three keys for the Wolverines in order to upset the Tar Heels on Thanksgiving day.