Rabid Iowa fans were bursting with excitement to storm the court on Thursday night in Iowa City. Unfortunately for them, the opportunity never came,
That's because Michigan basketball, despite an ugly performance that included 18 turnovers, found a way to get just enough buckets and stops to leave Iowa with a 71-68 win.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Morez Johnson also had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Aday Mara scored 14 points and had eight boards of his own, to go along with three assists and three blocks.
Michigan blocked five shots in the game. None was more important than Roddy Gayle's with around 20 seconds left. Iowa got the ball back, but Gayle forced a turnover that gave the Wolverines the upper hand.
The last 3-point shot from Iowa looked good until it wasn't, and Michigan survived for its 28th win of the season. Here are the gut reactions.
Gut reactions to Michigan basketball's win over Iowa
Sloppy play gave Iowa a shot: It was the first game without LJ Cason, but that wasn't an excuse for 18 turnovers. There was too much dribbling and just a lack of composure with the ball. Iowa's on-ball pressure was impressive. They limited Michigan to just 12 3-point attempts. The Wolverines also shot just 54 percent on 2-point attempts -- missing way too many shots at the rim. Give credit to Iowa, but Michigan needs to be sharper if it expects to make a deep run in March.
A perfect road record isn't easy: This game was a reminder of just how impressive it was for Michigan basketball to complete the regular season 10-0 on the road. That included road wins against Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, and now Iowa. Four of its conference road games were against top-30 teams, and the only game decided by single digits was when U-M committed 18 turnovers. That's impressive in its own right, even if Thursday's win wasn't by itself.
The Grind is a good lesson: Michigan will find itself in a game like this during the NCAA tournament. Even teams that win national championships don't have six easy games. Whether it happens in the second round, third round, or sooner, an inferior team will push the Wolverines. This experience and being able to find a way to win without having their "A" game will serve them well down the stretch.
Defense did it again: Michigan shot 53 percent from the field. It just didn't have enough possessions with shot attempts. So the defense carried the day. There were some issues on that end, such as the 10 offensive rebounds allowed. But the blocks and the defensive stops down the stretch were the reason Michigan was able to survive a poor performance on the offensive end to earn a quad-1 win. Iowa shot 39 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range. It's hard to win when you do that, like it's hard to win with 18 turnovers.