Iowa Men's Basketball Takes on #2 Michigan Sunday: Television Schedule, Preview, Prediction

Iowa's opening Big Ten schedule was hard last year, too, but you know you're in a tough conference when you play two top five teams in your first two games.

Game Time: 11:00 a.m. Central

Television: Big Ten Network

Records: Michigan 14-0, Iowa 11-3

Preview: Here's the first paragraph the Big Ten Network's writeup of Michigan's opening game that should worry Hawkeye fans:

Michigan (14-0) shot 60 percent from the field (34-of-57). The Wolverines were hot from long range, hitting 13-of-22 threes for a 59 percent night from beyond the arc. Michigan was tough on the offensive boards, grabbing 13. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a quality shooting game, nailing 6-of-8 shots from the field and scoring 21 points. The Wolverines also got double-digit performances from Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III, who each scored 10. Jared Swopshire scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and handed out four assists for Northwestern (9-5) in the game.

Problem: Michigan may have the best point guard in the country in Trey Burke, a position where Iowa is starting two promising, yet still young, freshmen. Michigan is also leading the conference in three-point shooting, whereas Iowa is ranked 10th, a weakness that stuck out in the Hawkeye matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers in the opening game. Add that to Michigan's well rounded roster augmenting Coach Belein's spread out three-point happy style, and the Wolverines may be the worst matchup for Iowa in the entire conference.

Prediction: Do I think Iowa is going to win? No, not likely. But if they can compete well against Michigan they can compete well against anyone, so this will be another good measuring stick for them. Score prediction: Michigan: 78, Iowa: 71