Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from brutal loss at Iowa

Wolverines are in a tough spot in Big Ten race

While losing on the road in the Big Ten is going to happen, the loss to Iowa stings particularly bad because Michigan basketball had just pulled even with Michigan State in the Big Ten standings.

Certainly, being a half-game (for now MSU vs Indiana Saturday) behind the Spartans or a full game behind Michigan State if it beats Indiana isn’t the end of the world. However, the two teams have much different schedules in terms of difficulty.

Michigan will play at Rutgers next, but after that, the Wolverines will still have to play Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State and Nebraska at home, as well as road games against Minnesota, Maryland, Penn State and Michigan State again.

Michigan State, on the other hand, will take on Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State, Nebraska and Rutgers at home along with road trips to Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, as well as the season finale at home against UM.

In the Big Ten, there are no easy victories and without Josh Langford, Michigan State could be a different team, but either way, after an ugly loss, the Wolverines are back to needing help from the Spartans to win the conference.