Michigan Edges Out Iowa in Big 10 Thriller
- emeredith55
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Elias Meredith 3/6/26 Sportz Nation
IOWA VS
3 MICHIGAN
Thursday night, the Michigan Wolverines traveled to Iowa to close out their last road trip of the year on a winning note. Four Wolverines finished in double figures as Michigan defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 71-68, after nearly blowing a 10 point second half lead.
In the first half was action-packed. Several ties and lead changes were in the first half with both teams grappling for position.
At the 3:33 mark, Michigan had their biggest lead of the first half up 26-21. Iowa would drill three straight three pointers to take their first lead in nearly 8 minutes.
Michigan would respond, junior center Adam Mora would tie the game at 30 going into halftime on an alley-oop layup.
Michigan was led by graduate student forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who had 7 first half points. Iowa were led by senior guard Bennett Stirtz and junior forward Cam Manyawu, who each had 8 points in the first half.
In the second half, it would be more of the same back-and-forth until half through the second half.
At the 8:19 left in the regulation, Michigan went on an 11-2 run. Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. should score 7 of his 16 points within the Michigan scoring run.
Iowa would respond with a 11-1 scoring run of their own to tie the game at 64 with 1:57 left in regulation.
Michigan’s Aday Mara would score his biggest points of the game during crunch time. Mara would put Michigan ahead for good, scoring 4 of his 14 points in the last 2 minutes.
Key to Victory: Michigan weathering the storm
Michigan would hold off Iowa’s comeback effort. The game was tied at 66 with 52 seconds left in regulation, the Wolverines forced a turnover and went 3-for-3 from the free throw line to close the game.
Next for the Wolverines: Sunday, March 8 vs #8 Michigan State Spartans at 3:30 PM EST
Next for the Hawkeyes: Sunday, March 8 at #9 Nebraska Cornhuskers at 3:30 PM EST
Thank you for reading!
Elias Meredith (@EAM_55)
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