Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. each scored 16 points Thursday night and No. 3 Michigan became the first Big Ten Conference team in 50 years to go unbeaten on the road in league play with a 71-68 victory over Iowa.
Aday Mara added 14 for the Wolverines (28-2, 18-1), including a tie-breaking dunk with 43 seconds left that put Michigan ahead 68-66. Lendeborg added 3 of 4 accuracy at the foul line in the last seven seconds.
Eliot Cadeau bounced back from a sloppy first half to finish with 11 points and nine assists as the Wolverines converted 24 of 45 shots from the field, including 13 of 23 after halftime. They also dominated the glass 38-25.
Bennett Stirtz scored a game-high 21 points for the Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) but made only 7 of 23 shots from the field, including 4 of 14 3-pointers. He had a chance to force overtime but couldn’t can a 3-pointer with one second remaining.
Cam Manyawu added 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with four seconds on the clock. Iowa made only 39.1% from the field but forced 18 turnovers and converted those into 26 points.
The pregame storyline concerned if undersized Iowa could find a way to defend against Michigan’s huge, productive frontcourt and earn a resume-boosting win.
It turned out the Hawkeyes could, at least in a first half where the Wolverines spent as much time throwing the ball away as they did scoring. Michigan entered the evening ranked fourth in assists in Division I and a solid 32nd in assist-turnover ratio at 1.6.
But it coughed up a whopping 12 turnovers in 32 first-half possessions, including three from Cadeau, who averages more than two assists for every miscue. Iowa cashed in those turnovers for 16 points, more than half its offense.
The Hawkeyes led by six at one point in the half before the Wolverines were able to play catch-up. An alley-oop from Cadeau to Mara with six seconds left produced a 30-30 tie at intermission.
