Thursday, March 13th, 12:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Conseco Fieldhouse (18,435) -- Indianapolis, Indiana. Television: Big Ten Network. Home Record: Michigan 6-9, Iowa 10-8. Away Record: Michigan 2-10, Iowa 3-8. Neutral Record: Michigan 1-2, Iowa 0-2. Conference Record: Michigan 5-13, Iowa 6-12. Series Record: Michigan leads, 81-56.

GAME NOTES: The ninth-seeded Michigan Wolverines and eighth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes square off in the first of three opening round games in the Big Ten Tournament this afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse. Iowa took care of Northwestern on the road, 67-62 in its last game of the year 10 days ago. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, the last-place Wildcats have been their only victim since a 53-48 victory over Ohio State back on February 2nd. In the six losses in between, Iowa has managed just 53.2 ppg. Putting points on the board hasn't been the Hawkeyes' strength, ranking last in the Big Ten in that department along with a -4.29 turnover margin. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Michigan has struggled at the defensive end, giving up a conference-worst 68.9 ppg. The Wolverines stumbled into tournament play by losing their last three games, including giving Northwestern its only conference win two weekends ago (62-60). In the home-and-home this season, Michigan and Iowa won on each other's home court. For Michigan, its 60-52 victory over Iowa on February 14th snapped a four-game skid to the Hawkeyes. In the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines upended the Hawkeyes the only two times they have met, in 1998 and 2004. The winner of tonight's bout has the unenviable task of battling top-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.

The offensive woes for the Hawkeyes have been well documented. The squad has been able to get by, however, with tenacious defense and a solid team-effort on the boards. Iowa is surrendering a conference low 58.1 ppg on just 40.5 percent shooting from the field. Four players are grabbing almost five rebounds a game as Cyrus Tate and Seth Gorney are pulling down 5.2 and 5.1 rpg, respectively. Tate doesn't look for the ball much, which Iowa might want to remedy considering his .675 field goal percentage. His 8.1 ppg ranks third on the team behind Tony Freeman (14.0 ppg) and Justin Johnson (12.0 ppg). Freeman missed 10 games during the season, but is healthy and ready to carry Iowa's offense deep into the tournament. In one of their better offensive efforts of the season, four Hawkeyes tallied double figures in the final game of the regular season last week, as Jake Kelly led the way with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. This is the kind of production Iowa has lacked all season and hopes will continue in Indy.

One of the lone bright spots for the Wolverines this season has been the play of Manny Harris. The 82.0 percent free throw shooter ranks third in the conference in points (16.4 ppg) and is grabbing more the four boards a game. For those efforts, Harris has earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and a spot on the Big Ten Freshman team. Sophomore DeShawn Sims ranks second on the team with 12.5 ppg while leading Michigan on the glass (5.2 rpg). With these two holding down the fort for hopefully the next two seasons, Michigan can take solace in some of the bumps and bruises it has experienced this campaign. While these two will almost certainly carry the load, the supporting cast needs to improve. Ekpe Udoh will be back for two more seasons, as the big man is a formidable presence in the block. Udoh is swatting almost three shots per game while chipping in 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing. The future looks bright for Michigan, but the odds of the Wolverines pulling off several victories in the conference tournament are slim to none.

In this first round matchup, the edge has to go with Iowa. The Hawkeyes have had several more days to rest and field one of the best defenses in the country. If the squad can control its mistakes the Hawkeyes should have no problem putting up points against the defenseless Wolverines.

Predicted Outcome

Iowa 63, Michigan 55