Sometimes it's not how you finish, but how you play for the first 36.5 minutes. Michigan played a very strong game and seemed to have a solid Iowa team in a vice grip on the road with a shade over three minutes to go in the contest. They led 78-66 and just needed one or two makes and a stop or two. They got next to none of that equation, and replicated the performance of a crashing blimp in nearly blowing the lead over the fading few minutes. But just enough makes from DeVante' Jones at the line and two Iowa misses from three with chances to tie in the final ten seconds helped Michigan survive. Just like last week's game in State College, it didn't look pretty, but it ends up in the win column all the same... and this one ends up in the Q1 bucket on the tournament resume too. 

We expected an offensive showcase between two teams who entered with top 25 offenses AND defenses outside the top 75 in adjusted efficiency, and that is exactly how the game started. Iowa shoveled in 14 points in the first four minutes, before Michigan went on a quick 11-0 run to make it 21-14 only seven minutes in. The only stops either team were getting were of the turnover variety, with Michigan forcing a few that DeVante' Jones turned into dunks for Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan off nice skip passes. 

Kobe Bufkin was a pleasant surprise off the bench [Campredon]

Iowa responded to Michigan's quick outburst with a 13-2 run of their own as Michigan's offense sputtered with Hunter Dickinson off the floor and Frankie Collins running the offense. An ugly near-airball three from Collins during this stretch was a low point of his night. Dickinson was off the floor due to foul trouble, which became a notable storyline in the first half and it would continue throughout the night. All three typical Michigan bigs, Dickinson, Diabate, and Brandon Johns Jr., picked up two fouls in the first half, which meant Jaron Faulds made a rare appearance (his attempts at guarding Keegan Murray left a lot to be desired). The inconsistency in refereeing crescendoed when Juwan Howard picked up a technical foul in the first half following a no-call of what seemed like an obvious foul drawn by Faulds. 

The technical free throws put Iowa ahead 37-35, but Michigan tied it moments later and held the ball with the same score on the board and under ten seconds left. Rather than holding for the final shot, Michigan hurried, passing it up to Kobe Bufkin, who rushed a three point attempt and it airballed out of bounds with three seconds left. Iowa then hurled a 3/4-court pass to Murray, who was posting up on Faulds, and then he stepped out for a fade away jumper at the horn that dropped. 39-37 Iowa at halftime, and a baffling way to mismanage the end of the opening period.  

The second half remained mostly the same as the first for five minutes to start things off, with Michigan continuing to struggle mightily from three (1/13 at one point, with more airballs than makes). The only notable development was a bizarre play that saw Juwan Howard come out onto the court to field a ball that was set to roll out of bounds, not realizing he was not allowed to touch it until it officially touched out of bounds. That landed him another technical, but because this was of the Class B variety, it was only one shot, and did not include an ejection. 

Tonight was the best game of Moussa's career [Campredon]

With 14:32 to go, the two squads were tied at 50, but that's when Michigan started to make their run. They would outscore Iowa 18-7 over the next five minutes to seize command of the game. Diabate, Eli Brooks, and Dickinson led the offensive charge for the Wolverines, who shot 7/9 from the floor over that span, and also banked a few points at the line. At that point it went from "Michigan has a shot" to "Michigan needs to win this game".

They defended their lead pretty well over the next few minutes, featuring one crucial swing where Patrick McCaffery missed a dunk and then Michigan responded with a pair of makes, including a Kobe Bufkin steal and jam, which swung it from being a possible four point lead back up to 10. Another minute bled off the clock, and Diabate scored two more at the charity stripe, now up to 28 for his total, and Michigan led 78-66. At that point there were just over three minutes left and Iowa seemed to be running out of time. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: More recap]

That's when the near-collapse began. Patrick McCaffery made a pair of layups, the latter being an and-one that gave Diabate his fourth foul. Juwan Howard then chose to sub Diabate out, a move that nearly burned Michigan massively. Caleb Houstan bricked an open look from three, Tony Perkins finished a euro step layup, Kobe Bufkin used just 15 seconds off the shot clock before being stuffed at the rim, and McCaffery went end-to-end for a layup. Suddenly it was 78-75 Wolverines with only 1:22 to go. 

Keegan Murray was Iowa's best player tonight [Campredon]

Caleb Houstan drew a foul and made two free throws, which was followed by a dunk from Murray, setting the score at 80-77 with 0:53 left. Jones wound the clock down under 30 seconds and drove to the rack, being obviously fouled by the Hawkeye defenders, but no whistle came and the ball went out of bounds. Initially it was awarded to Michigan, but a review correctly gave possession to Iowa. The Hawkeyes now had a chance to tie with a three, but Murray's attempt was off the mark. Jones snagged the rebound and was promptly fouled, making one at the line. Michigan allowed a rather easy layup from Ahron Uhlis and the score was 81-79 with eight seconds left. 

Michigan got the ball in and Jones was fouled. Two free throw makes would likely seal the game, but Jones split the pair and Iowa again had a chance to tie with five seconds left. Jordan Bohannon got the in-bounds pass and dribbled up just past half-court. Michigan intended to foul and Bohannon knew it, but he chose to try and play for a whistle rather than a basket, going up with a shot in a half-hearted flopping motion, expecting a whistle. The referees did not bail him out, and his halfcourt attempt with three full seconds still on the clock did not come close. Jones grabbed the rebound and was fouled with just one second left. Two makes put the game on ice and wrapped it up for Michigan. Nerve wracking, but they all count the same in the standings. 

The story of the game, prior to the last couple minutes, was Moussa Diabate. Some bold enough might even call it The Moussa Diabate Game. The French big man posted a career high 28 points on a blistering 12/15 from the field, as Iowa struggled to come up with any answer, and Diabate proceeded to knock down jumpers that don't typically go down for him, even when some resistance was presented.

Other stars included Eli Brooks and Hunter Dickinson, as the two veterans were both solid, although perhaps not extraordinary. Jones had his moments, though those free throw misses late made it too close. Kobe Bufkin gave Michigan strong minutes off the bench on a night where no other reserves did much of anything, scoring 10 points in 16 minutes on 4/6 from the field, though signs of inexperience were still there. 

Eli was steady as always tonight, and Michigan's lone good three point gunner [Campredon]

Michigan was able to hang 80+ points on Iowa despite a terrible effort from three, going 4/20 from beyond the long line. The reason for the win was that they shot nearly 65% from two, as well as getting 18 points on free throws. Iowa's defense was pretty much as bad as advertised. The Hawkeyes put up 79 points offensively, thanks to 23 from Keegan Murray, though he did it on a rather poor 9/23 shooting (including two humiliating missed dunks). Iowa didn't shoot much better from three, though they exploited offensive rebounds in the second half. 

The Maize & Blue entered this week feeling like they needed to go 1-1 in two road games against Iowa and Wisconsin. This win guarantees that they will at worst finish 1-1, huge for the tournament chase. Michigan is now 14-10 overall and 8-6 in the conference, with 11-9 still feeling like the mark you want to hit to make it into the picture entering the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines have now won 7 of their last 10 games in the conference since getting Hunter Dickinson and the full roster back from COVID. 

The schedule doesn't get any easier though, as Michigan heads into the Trohl Center to face Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. A win there would be massive, but it isn't necessary to make March Madness. That game is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST and will be televised on CBS.