Michigan
28-2,18-1Big Ten
Iowa
20-10,10-9Big Ten
Michigan Makes History in Tough Road Win at Iowa
3/5/2026 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa. -- In a back-and-forth contest that featured 14 lead changes and eight ties, the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team found a way in the final seconds to seal a 71-68 road victory against Iowa on Thursday (March 5) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win marks the first time in program history that a Michigan team has gone undefeated on the road.
Leaders and Best
Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. led the way with 16 points each. Lendeborg scored 11 of his 16 in the second half and pulled in eight rebounds for his 25th game this season with five-plus rebounds. Johnson scored in double figures for the 11th time in his last 12 games, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and securing eight rebounds. Aday Mara added 14 points and was the third Wolverine with eight rebounds on the night. Elliot Cadeau chipped in with 11 points and directed the offense, dishing out nine assists. Cadeau earned his points at the line, making a career-high nine free throws on 11 attempts.
Turning Point
With Michigan up 68-66 in the final seconds, Roddy Gayle Jr. stepped up on defense with a clutch block on an easy path to the basket for Iowa. Gayle pulled in the defensive rebound, but a Wolverine turnover on the inbound play gave Iowa the ball back. Gayle delivered again, recording a steal with seven seconds left, setting up two Lendeborg free throws to push Michigan past the Hawkeyes.
Second Half
After a four-point first half, Lendeborg reached 10 points, off a bucket to open the second half and a three soon after. Johnson tallied five straight points with a dunk and a three, and after a Gayle steal and score, Michigan (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) held a seven-point advantage, 42-35, at the 16:07 mark. Over the next 3:38, Iowa (20-10, 10-9 Big Ten) went on an 11-1 run, holding Michigan scoreless for 3:20, to take a 46-43 lead.
Michigan ended its offensive woes after two free throws from Lendeborg and a jumper from Mara put Michigan back in front with a one-point lead. The back-and-forth action continued as Iowa immediately scored a bucket to take a 48-47 lead with 11 minutes to play.
After U-M took the lead, Iowa pulled within one point, 52-51, off its sixth three-pointer of the game. Johnson ignited the Wolverines with back-to-back buckets, and after a pair of free throws from Cadeau following a media timeout, Michigan took a 58-51 lead with a little more than seven minutes to go in the game. The Wolverines extended their lead to 10 at the 6:15 mark, but over the next two minutes, Iowa went on a 7-0 run and cut Michigan's lead down to single digits, 63-60, with 4:15 to go.
Iowa continued to find success, pushing its run to 11-1 and tying the game at 64 with 1:57 left. The tie was broken 35 seconds later after Mara found the bottom of the bucket as the shot clock expired to give Michigan a 66-64 lead. With 52 seconds to go, Iowa once again tied the game, this time at 66, with a layup and called an immediate timeout. Following the stoppage, Cadeau found Mara on an alley-oop to put Michigan back in front. U-M never relinquished its lead, fighting off the Hawkeyes' last-second efforts to pull away with a win.
First Half
Fifteen seconds into the game, Lendeborg drilled a three to get Michigan on the board, but the Wolverines were unable to score over the next three minutes, committing three turnovers in that span, allowing Iowa to take a 7-3 lead at the 16:49 mark. A Mara slam ended the drought to pull U-M within two at the under-16 media timeout.
Iowa scored on back-to-back possessions to take an 11-5 lead. Trey McKenney responded and hit a jumper at the 13:58 mark, ending another Michigan scoring drought. Trailing 13-7, Michigan committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions but limited the damage and put up a 7-0 run to take a 14-13 lead at the halfway point of the first. During the run, Michigan's defense stepped up, forcing six straight misses and holding the Hawkeyes scoreless for over three minutes.
Michigan took its largest lead (four) since the opening three points from Lendeborg off a three-pointer from Johnson, pushing the U-M lead to 21-17. Iowa countered with four straight points to knot the game at 21 with five minutes until halftime.
A late 6-0 run off back-to-back threes from the Hawkeyes gave Iowa a 30-28 lead with less than 30 seconds until the break. A bucket down low from Mara tied the contest for the fifth time as both teams went into the locker room with 30 points on the board. For Michigan, 30 points was the lowest output Michigan has produced in the first half this season.
What's Next
The Wolverines will close out their regular season with a top-10 matchup against rival No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday (March 8) at Crisler Center for the program's annual Maize Out game and Senior Day. The game will be broadcast live on CBS, with tipoff slated for 4:30 p.m.
Notes
• Michigan has gone undefeated in true road games for the first time in program history and is the first Big Ten team since Indiana in 1975-76 to do so.
• U-M is the first team in history to go 10-0 on the road in the Big Ten.
• With 18 conference wins, U-M has now tied Purdue (2022-23; 18-2), Illinois (2021-22; 18-2) and Wisconsin (2021-22; 18-2) for the most in conference history.
• With eight rebounds, Mara (207) joins Johnson (222) and Lendeborg (219) with 200-plus rebounds in the season. This is the first time three Wolverines have reached the milestone since Robert Traylor (357), Maceo Baston (227) and Jerod Ward (206) in 1997-98.
• Cadeau's nine assists are his most since he recorded 10 at Maryland (Dec. 13). He now has 20 games with five-plus assists.
• This game marks the first time Michigan has been tied at halftime this season.
• With 30 first-half points, it marks the 10th time U-M has been held under 40 points in the first 20 minutes. The Wolverines are 8-2 in those games.
