With the Big Ten regular-season championship in hand, third-ranked Michigan will continue its push toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a road game Thursday against Iowa on Peacock.
The Wolverines (17-1 Big Ten, 27-2) have already set a program record for conference victories entering their final two games against Iowa and then home against No. 8 Michigan State on March 8. They are ranked second in the NET Ranks and have won 13 consecutive Big Ten games.
The Hawkeyes (10-8 Big Ten, 20-9) are on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 3-7 record in Quad 1 games. Iowa, which has a 14-2 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, closes the regular season with two ranked teams: Michigan and then at No. 9 Nebraska on March 8.
In their last meeting on Dec. 7, 2024, Michigan beat Iowa 85-83 in Ann Arbor. Michigan holds a 100-68 edge in the series, but Iowa has won three of the past five meetings.
More information below on No. 3 Michigan and Iowa and how to watch the game.
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How to watch No. 3 Michigan vs. Iowa:
- When: Thursday, March 5
- Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Xfinity and YouTubeTV: NBCSN
- Live Stream: Peacock
No. 3 Michigan:
The Wolverines lead the Big Ten in scoring at 89 points per game and field goal percentage at 51%. They also lead the conference in opponent field goal percentage (37.8%, second nationally) and blocks (5.9 per game). Among the team’s only weaknesses are turnovers (12 per game, fourth worst in the Big Ten) and foul shooting (73.7%, 13th in the Big Ten).
In an 84-70 road victory over No. 11 Illinois on Feb. 27, Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, and Yaxel Lendeborg had 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. It was the sixth time this season that Michigan has defeated an AP Top 25 team by double digits.
Center Aday Mara, who leads the Big Ten with 2.6 blocks per game, added 19 points for Michigan, which has matched last year’s victory total in its second season with coach Dusty May.
Iowa:
The Hawkeyes thrive on strong shooting (49.5% field goals, top 25 nationally) and defense (leading the Big Ten in opponent scoring at 65 points per game). But they struggle with rebounding, ranking in the bottom 10 of Division I with 29.8 per game.
With 12 newcomers (eight transfers, six who followed coach Ben McCollum from Drake), Iowa has faltered after a strong start and suffered a costly 71-69 road loss to Penn State on Feb. 28.
Cooper Koch scored a career-high 18 points against the Nittany Lions. Bennett Stirtz added 16, but his streak of seven consecutive 20-point games was snapped (the longest by an Iowa guard since Freddy Brown‘s 16-game run in 1971). Tavion Banks also is averaging in double figures (10.5 points per game) for the Hawkeyes.
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