No. 3 Michigan remains undefeated after defeating Iowa in Big Ten play

Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. each scored 16 points Thursday night and No. 3 Michigan cruised to a 71-68 win over Iowa to become the first Big Ten Conference team in 50 years to go undefeated in league play.

Aday Mara added 14 points for the Wolverines (28-2, 18-1), including a game-tying dunk with 43 seconds left to put Michigan ahead 68-66. Lendeborg added 3 of 4 accuracy from the foul line in the last seven seconds.

Eliot Cadeau rebounded from a poor 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 just 7 of 23 shots from the field, including 4 of 14 3-pointers. They had a chance to force overtime, but they failed to hit a 3-pointer with 1 second left.

Cam Manyawu added 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with four seconds left. Iowa shot 39.1% from the field but forced 18 turnovers and converted them into 26 points.

The pregame storyline is whether undersized Iowa can find a way to defend Michigan’s massive and productive frontcourt and get a resume-boosting win.

It turned out the Hawkeyes could, at least in a first half in which the Wolverines spent as much time throwing the ball as they did scoring. Michigan ranks fourth in Division I in assists and a solid 32nd in assist turnover percentage at 1.6.

But they had a whopping 12 turnovers in 32 possessions in the first half, including three from Cadeau, who averages more than two assists for every fumble. Iowa had 16 turnovers, more than half of its offense.

The Hawkeyes led by six at one point in the first half before the Wolverines caught up. An alley-oop from Cadeau to Mara with six seconds left made it a 30-30 tie at the break.

–Field level media