Michigan senior DeShawn Sims (34) gathers the ball next to Iowa's Eric May (25) in the first half Thursday in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. (Photo: Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS - This time, the Michigan basketball team didn’t need DeShawn Sims’ typically strong effort against Iowa.

His first half was good enough.

Sims again scored in double figures for eighth-seeded Michigan in a 59-52 win over ninth-seeded Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. It’s the third year in a row the Wolverines have knocked off the Hawkeyes.

Sims is a big reason for that dominance. And now that Sims will never face Iowa again, the secret of his success against the Hawkeyes - he averaged 16.1 points and six rebounds against Iowa before Thursday - can be told. And it’s simple, really.

“I didn’t play that good of a game today,” Sims said. “They leave a lot of room in the paint for me to operate. A lot of the other teams, they usually clog into the paint, and Iowa just leaves the paint open for me to operate and let me get stuff done.”

It was most evident early in the first half, when Sims took the ball at the top of the key, spun around and drove the right side of the lane, finishing with a one-handed slam over a couple of Iowa defenders.

Sims had 10 of his 14 points and three of his four rebounds in the first half before Iowa sort of solved Sims by playing zone.

By then, though, it was almost too late for Iowa.

Michigan used Sims and junior guard Manny Harris to jump out to a 17-8 game-opening run. All 17 points were scored by Sims and Harris, a contrast from Sunday, when the two combined for 13 points.

On Thursday, they combined for 36 points, including 22 from Harris, setting up a second-round game Friday against top-seeded Ohio State (noon, ESPN).

That’s not to say there weren’t tense moments for Michigan.

Michigan (15-16) appeared to have the game wrapped up, leading 57-41 with 4:07 left in the game. Iowa’s Cully Payne had played well, scoring a career-high 25 points, but other than that, the Hawkeyes (10-22) were lifeless.

Then Michigan looked up, and Iowa had cut the margin to five, 57-52, with 1:17 left.

“I thought we did a good job,” sophomore guard Zack Novak said. “We stayed pretty calm. Nobody panicked. I felt we were in control.”

That was the players on the court. On the bench, those who couldn’t get in had a different tale. They’d watched all of this before and they weren’t getting in the game, so they couldn’t do anything except hope Michigan would figure it out.

“It’s really nerve wracking,” walk-on guard Corey Person said. “It’s like you want to be out there and make the play for your team because those are your brothers out there that are playing. So you want them to succeed.”

That Michigan held on to a lead, for once in this season, showed progress. Two months ago, Michigan watched leads large and small slip away in the second half. There was a 17-point blown lead against Northwestern, an eight-point lead against Alabama and a nine-point lead at Wisconsin.

This time, when Iowa made its run, Harris made his free throws and Michigan held on, keeping its season alive for another day.

“We’re just growing as a team and matured,” Novak said. “Our young guys, they’ve come a long way in the last month, couple of weeks, they’ve really grown.”

Michigan received more balance than usual. While Sims and Harris did much of the scoring, the Wolverines did get points from seven players. Everyone who played except for Darius Morris scored, and Morris had three assists, three rebounds and a steal.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.