Dusty May praises Iowa crowd as Michigan basketball finishes unbeaten in historic Big Ten road slate

IOWA CITY, IOWA – No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) head coach Dusty May said his team fed off a raucous Iowa crowd and leaned on depth and poise to finish an unbeaten Big Ten road slate.

Michigan made history in their road victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9 Big Ten) following a gritty 71-68 victory.

With the victory on Thursday (March 5), Michigan finished the regular season undefeated in true road games for the first time since joining the Big Ten in 1917 by improving to 11-0.

Yaxel Lendeborg finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a block, while teammate Morez Johnson Jr. added 16 points and eight rebounds in the historic victory.

“I want to give a shout-out to the Hawkeye faithful. What a great college basketball environment. It was loud. It was intense,” said May.

May said Michigan prepared for a tough Iowa team and expected it to improve across the season.

He credited his players’ trust in one another for steadying the team in hostile environments and praised their emotional control late in the game.

“They trust each other. They trust the staff and their ability to simply give to the group and support each other and stay ready,” May said

May described three critical defensive plays by Roddy Gayle Jr. and credited multiple players for stepping up.

One of the plays was the key block that sealed the victory, and another was when he played tough defense and swiped the ball off the Iowa player’s knee, deflecting it out of bounds for a turnover.

“Yeah, in my mind, it was three key defensive plays. He had to block. He then came up with a loose ball,” May said.

May also talked about how Michigan gave up 16 turnovers in the first half but bounced back with only 2 in the second half.

He said the team corrected spacing and screening at halftime after Iowa’s aggressive, handsy defense disrupted Michigan in the first half.

May singled out Iowa’s defensive activity and coaching, saying the Hawkeyes were unusually disruptive with their hands and quick to attack exposed ball handlers.

He said Michigan adjusted spacing and used speed and quickness more effectively in the second half.

“There’s some that do it a little bit differently, but if you relax for a half a second or you expose the ball, they’re going after it,” May said.

After a sloppy first half, May said the team emphasized cleaner catches and better spacing at halftime and reaped the benefit in the second half, when turnovers dropped sharply.

“So I think our spacing improved. We set a few more screens just to loosen them up,” May said.

May also discussed defending Bennett Stirtz (21 points, three rebounds and four assists) and praised his stamina, while describing Michigan’s multiple defensive looks that helped contain him late.

He credited specific teammates and recruits for maintaining the program’s culture, including younger players who have “run our locker room” and handed down unwritten rules that May said help the team perform under pressure.

“And so it’s a good mix of really really of guys that can they they teach our culture. They run our locker room. They give our guys all the thousand unwritten rules that we have. We rallied around L.J. Cason.”

May acknowledged a late possession by Aday Mara that could have been managed better, as he hit a banked jumpshot a few feet inside of the three-point line, but applauded teammates who made decisive plays when needed.

“Obviously, we didn’t manage that possession very well, but good individual players step up and make good individual plays when they’re needed, and that’s what happened,” May said.

History

Michigan’s 18th conference win is tied for the most in the Big Ten all-time, tying the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers during the 18-game era.

Since moving to a 20-game schedule during the 2018-2019 season, the Wisconsin Badgers (2021-22), the Illinois Fighting Illini (2021-22), and the Purdue Boilermakers (2022-23) have all finished with an 18-2 record.

The Wolverines have a chance to make history again as they host the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday (March 8) at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor at 4:30 p.m.

Although a joyous moment in Iowa City, Michigan, the team blew a 10-point lead late in the second half, and they finished the game with 18 turnovers in their first matchup without backup point guard L.J. Cason, who was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.

Thursday’s road game was Michigan’s seventh road game in its last 10 outings as part of an 11-game stretch over 38 days that included seven road contests, five games against top-10 opponents, and a neutral-site game against Duke in Washington, D.C.

Michigan holds a 101-68 all-time record against Iowa, and has won only three of the last five meetings.

In Iowa City, the men in maize are 39-42 following the pivotal road victory.