No. 3 Michigan holds off a late run by Iowa, beats the Hawkeyes 71-68

Michigan guard Elliott Cadeau (3) drives to the basket between Iowa guard Tate Sage (24) and Isaia Howard (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

JOHN BOHNENKAMP | Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg scored 16 points apiece, and Aday Mara had two tiebreaking shots in the final 1:22 as No. 3 Michigan defeated Iowa 71-68 on Thursday night.

The Wolverines (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) were held 18 points below their season scoring average, but managed to hold off the Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) in the closing seconds.

Iowa went on an 11-1 run to tie the game at 64 with 1:56 to play before Mara banked in a shot before the shot clock expired, putting Michigan in front again. After Iowa’s Cam Manyawu scored inside to tie the game at 66, Mara, who finished with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting, scored off a lob with 43 seconds left to put the Wolverines ahead to stay.

Iowa had chances to tie the game on back-to-back possessions, but missed three shots on one of the possessions and lost the ball on another after a turnover by Tavion Banks with seven seconds left.

The Hawkeyes had a final chance to tie the game after Lendeborg made two free throws with four seconds remaining, but Bennett Stirtz’s 3-pointer try was long.

Elliot Cadeau added 11 points for the Wolverines, the Big Ten regular-season champions.

Stirtz led Iowa with 21 points. Manyawu had 14.

Michigan had a 38-25 rebounding edge on the Hawkeyes.

The game was tied at 30 at halftime. Michigan shot 50% from the field, but committed 12 turnovers that Iowa turned into 16 points.

The Hawkeyes were 11 of 31 from the field, with Stirtz especially struggling to make shots. Stirtz, Iowa’s leading scorer this season, made just one of his first nine shots, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 27-second span to give Iowa a 30-28 lead.

HEAR FROM IOWA HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Tough one. I thought our guys competed their hearts out. I thought everybody that came in did a great job, in particular, obviously Bennett kind of wills us. If he’s not one of those top picks, I mean, people are crazy. I mean, he’s tough. Does the best matchup, defends, wills his team to victory, didn’t win tonight, but wills his team to fight. Tavion, he’s giving up three to four inches. Cam’s giving up inches. They are just a bunch of warriors. I really enjoyed coaching tonight, I’m not going to lie to you, I really enjoyed it. That’s how I want to play. I want to win. I want to win those games. I did enjoy it though; I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the crowd, I appreciate the crowd the whole season, you can see it’s trending in the right direction. We just have to keep building, keep going, and keep going the right way.”

IOWA GAME NOTES

The Hawkeyes fell to No. 3 Michigan, 71-68, on Thursday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a game that featured eight ties and 14 lead changes.
- The loss is Iowa’s third against a top 10 opponent this season.
Iowa used an 11-1 run late in the second half to erase a 10-point deficit. The game was tied at 64 with 1:57 left and at 66 with 52 seconds remaining.
- Michigan ran a backdoor lob to Aday Mara with 43 seconds remaining to take a 68-66 lead.
- Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz had a look at a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Iowa finishes the regular season with a 14-3 record at home.
The Hawkeyes had two players finish in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (21), Cam Manyawu (14)
Stirtz recorded his 11th 20-point game in the last 13 contests (18th this season). He finished 7-of-23 from the field with four 3-point field goals and was 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
- Stirtz played all 40 minutes for the 13th time this season.
Manyawu tied a season high with 14 points, scoring 10+ points for the second time in three games (ninth time this season). He also led the team with eight rebounds.
Iowa held the Wolverines to 71 points – 18 below its season average – but the Wolverines shot 53.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 17-of-22 from the charity stripe.
- The Hawkeyes were 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
Michigan out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 38-25.
Iowa forced 18 Wolverine turnovers, turning them into 26 points in the contest.
- The Hawkeyes committed just five turnovers.
There were five ties and seven lead changes in the first half before it ended in a deadlock at 30 all.
- The Wolverines’ 30 first half points were a season low. It was just the seventh time this season that the Wolverines didn’t lead at half.
- Michigan had eight turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes and 12 turnovers in the first half. Iowa converted those miscues into 16 points.