Iowa punched toe to toe with Michigan and was in position to upset No. 3 Michigan. They had the crowd locked in, the defense was locked in and they were holding their own against the Wolverines own tough defense. It just wasn’t enough as Michigan snuck out of town with a 71-68 win in front of 13,338 Iowa fans at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Trailing early, Iowa responded with an 11-2 run to take a 13-7 lead five minutes into the game. During the stretch, the Hawkeyes forced six turnovers, including two shot clock violations, while making 4-of-5 field goals. Michigan answered with a run of its own, taking a four-point lead as Iowa went cold, making just 1-of-9 from the field. Trailing 26-21 after starting 1-of-11 from 3-point range, Iowa hit its next three attempts from deep to take a 30-28 lead. Michigan scored on the final possession of the half as the Hawkeyes held the Wolverines to a season-low first-half points, entering halftime tied, 30-30.
Junior Cam Manyawu recorded eight first half points and five rebounds, while senior Bennett Stirtz also added eight points. Iowa shot 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from the field and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range, while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes forced 12 Michigan turnovers in the half, converting them into 16 points.
Michigan led 42-35 four minutes into the second half before Iowa used an 11-1 run to take a 46-43 lead with 12 minutes remaining. After a few lead changes, Michigan pushed its advantage to 10 with six minutes left, Iowa’s largest deficit of the game. The Hawkeyes answered with another 11-1 run to tie the game at 64-64 with two minutes remaining.
Michigan regained the lead before Manyawu tied the game again with 52 seconds left. A Wolverines layup made it a two-point game with 43 seconds remaining. Trailing by three with seven seconds left, freshman Tate Sage made two free throws to cut the deficit to one. Michigan converted both free throws on the ensuing possession, and a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt from Stirtz to tie the game just missed.
Stirtz led Iowa with 21 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Manyawu tied a season high with 14 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Iowa shot 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) from the field and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes were outrebounded 38-22 but forced 18 Michigan turnovers, outscoring the Wolverines 26-5 in points off turnovers while committing just five turnovers.
Head Coach Ben McCollum loved the atmosphere in the arena and the heart of his team, “Tough one. I thought our guys competed their hearts out. I thought everybody that came in did a great job, in particular, obviously Bennett kind of wills us. If he’s not one of those top picks, I mean, people are crazy. I mean, he’s tough. Does the best matchup, defends, wills his team to victory, didn’t win tonight, but wills his team to fight. Tavion, he’s giving up three to four inches. Cam’s giving up inches. They are just a bunch of warriors. I really enjoyed coaching tonight, I’m not going to lie to you, I really enjoyed it. That’s how I want to play. I want to win. I want to win those games. I did enjoy it though; I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the crowd, I appreciate the crowd the whole season, you can see it’s trending in the right direction. We just have to keep building, keep going, and keep going the right way.”
