IOWA CITY — When Isaia Howard’s dunk was blocked, coach Ben McCollum immediately jumped up and down and waved for the Iowa defense to get back.
When Bennett Stirtz’s shots repeatedly circled in and out of the rim for bad-luck misses, McCollum was jumping up and down and waving for his team to GET BACK.
The Hawkeyes had one path to stun No. 3-ranked Michigan on March 5 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and that was to be absolutely locked-in on both ends of the floor. And that included their coaches.
At one point, assistant coach Josh Sash turned to the already-raucous fans and shouted toward them to get louder. The 13,854 here obliged. Twice, McCollum spiked a clipboard to the ground during timeouts. During one Michigan possession, assistant Luke Barnwell was flailing across the floor to implore his defenders to get in position.
Iowa hung with the powerful Wolverines from start to finish before falling 71-68 in a tense, two-hour battle.
Michigan improved to 28-2 and for the first time since Jan. 27 played a single-digit game against a Big Ten Conference opponent. The Wolverines’ margins of victory in their previous eight games against league opponents: 12, 41, 21, 12, 30, 11, 10 and 14 points.
“Your only hope,” McCollum said, “is to really just fight and compete.”
This was an all-hands-on-deck type of game that Iowa needed on the floor. McCollum lamented that he thought his team gave 95% effort in a disappointing Feb. 28 loss at last-place Penn State. But Iowa looked 100% locked in on Thursday night.
“Just a bunch of warriors. I really enjoyed coaching tonight,” McCollum said. “I’m not going to lie to you. I really enjoyed it. Like, that’s how I want to play.”
What made it fun was this was a fans-on-their-feet-throughout type of game, too.
“That’s the loudest I’ve heard Carver,” said Stirtz, the star guard who scored 21 points and saw his final 3-point attempt bounce off the rim.
Added junior Cam Manyawu, who matched his season high with 14 points despite going against the nation’s No. 2 adjusted defense and 7-foot-3 Aday Mara: “Super fun atmosphere, super fun game. The only thing that sucks about it is we weren’t able to get it done.”
Dusty May, whose Michigan team overcame 18 turnovers with 53% shooting and a 17-11 advantage in free throws, opened his postgame news conference by praising the Carver crowd.
“I grew up watching Dr. Tom Davis’ teams (at Iowa in the 1980s and 90s),” said May, an Indiana native. “The pressing, the energy. My perception of Iowa basketball is this. And with what they have going on now, it’s going to look like this frequently, in my opinion. … I was very impressed. This is a really good Big Ten environment.”
Though he probably didn’t intend to, McCollum almost sounded like the winning coach at times during his postgame news conference.
This was his final home game of Year 1 as Iowa’s head coach. One of his first missions here was to address the fan base, which was checked out by the end of the 15-year Fran McCaffery era.
Listless Carver environments a year ago turned into the bedlam we witnessed throughout this March 5 classic.
Full-throated fans bellowed, from start to finish. They roared when officials called a Michigan foul, with an 11-3 disparity in that key stat to start the second half. The place exploded when Manyawu dunked on a gorgeous feed from Stirtz with 1:57 to go, pulling Iowa even at 64-64 after it had trailed this juggernaut opponent 63-53 with just over 5 minutes left.
“That’s how our teams are going to be. We went down 10 to arguably the best team in the country. … And then you come back,” McCollum said. “When you coach that, and those guys fight for you, and you’re fighting for them. Like, that’s what’s so cool. It’s fun. I enjoy coaching that.”
Sure, it would have been great to get this monumental win and take away any pressure that remains this season for Iowa to hang on to an NCAA Tournament bid.
Frankly, playing Michigan toe-to-toe should be favorable for the Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9 Big Ten) in the metrics that matter on Selection Sunday (March 15). They finish the regular season on March 8 at No. 9 Nebraska and could take away all doubt with a win.
But the significance of this particular night was the year-over-year reversal from a disgruntled and worn-out fan base into one that is charged-up and excited about the present and future of Hawkeye basketball.
And that started with the energy from Iowa’s players and coaches from the opening tip-off.
“I think you can kind of just see the energy from us, and then it gets transferred to the crowd, and it just gets everything going,” Manyawu said. “If we’re able to consistently bring that energy as a team, that would be really big for us.”
McCollum’s first year was all about building a foundation.
Winning, sure. But the foundation was paramount.
He made a passionate point to remind folks that outgoing seniors Stirtz and Tavion Banks, in particular, turned down more money elsewhere to come to Iowa and help McCollum get this program going in the right direction.
“I really want to make sure that they’re appreciated, and hope that people understand how much they actually have given, legitimately given, to be a part of this,” McCollum said. “… That’s a big deal. I think in years coming, we’ll realize how big of a deal that is.”
The rest of Iowa’s season will be played away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. After Nebraska, it’s likely a March 11 morning game in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. And after the league tournament, fingers crossed across the state, the NCAA Tournament (and not the First Four games in Dayton). Iowa looks like it’s hovering around the No. 9 or 10 seed line right now.
McCollum said he was “proud” of his players against Michigan, while not claiming a moral victory.
And recall, his message to fans early in the season was basically: Stick with us. Through the highs and lows. Seeing almost every seat occupied and the student section filled and engaged from court-side to Row 43, McCollum got the start he wanted in fan support.
“They proved it by coming out and supporting, (even) after a disappointing loss,” McCollum said. “They can see it. And I can see it.
“That’s what our teams are going to be. They’re going to fight like that.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 31 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa falls short to No. 3 Michigan but wins over home fans | Leistikow
Reporting by Chad Leistikow, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
