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WATCH: Assistant Justin Joyner, Michigan players preview showdown with Iowa

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•12/06/24•

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Screenshot 2024-12-06 at 5.53.57 PM
Michigan assistant coach Justin Joyner (Anthony Broome / The Wolverine)

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to Crisler Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. (Fox Sports 1) looking to move to 2-0 in Big Ten play and 8-1 overall on the season. The Hawkeyes are looking to do the same as they come to town at 7-1, too.

Iowa won its Big Ten opener the other night against Northwestern 80-79 at home, and Michigan is on high alert for what head coach Fran McCaffery’s team is bringing to the table.

Assistant coach Justin Joyner and Michigan players – junior guard Tre Donaldson and graduate center Vlad Goldin – spoke to the media on Thursday to preview the showdown and discuss the team’s start to the season coming off a 67-64 win at No. 11 Wisconsin on Tuesday.

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“We’ve been really good this far in the season at limiting assists,” Joyner said during his session with the media. “I think we’re fourth in assist rate defensively. So it’s going to be a battle of wills, so to speak.I think they’re 20 to 21 assists a game. We’re fourth in the country in defensive assist rate. So we’ve got to do what we do. It’s going to be switching. It’s going to be our ball screen covered. 

“But I think the biggest thing for their assist rate being so high is their transition attack. So us being good at getting back, creating walls, locating shooters in their early attack is super important. And then the other piece is any time you have a big that can command attention on the block like Owen Freeman can, it becomes a little bit of a pinch, right? Are you going to bring help on the post? Are you going to play them one-on-one? You have to solve that riddle, so to speak. And so that’s going to be the key in us making them play one-on-one and limiting assists is how we kind of defend them in the post and how we defend them in transition.”

Watch the media sessions below.

Assistant coach Justin Joyner

Michigan guard Tre Donaldson and center Vlad Goldin

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