This Michigan basketball team has been a source of frustration for the better part of a decade. There’s the good moments, the bad ones, and then the horrible ones. In Thursday’s loss to Iowa, there was most definitely good, bad, and everything in between.

The Good

The first half for this team was VERY GOOD basketball. Michigan freshman guard Jett Howard put on an absolute clinic while on the floor. He scored 34 points, shooting 7 of 13 from downtown. Even better, he did so while grabbing 1 board and 1 steal. Safe to say, Jett Howard just had the best game of his young career.

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Hunter Dickinson faced double and triple teams all night, really limiting what he could do on the floor. He still was able to manage a double-double, tallying 12 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Dug McDaniel showed improvement as well. He added a solid 12 points, six boards, and seven assists, showing a ton of improvement from his last stretch of games. Kobe Bufkin added nine points and seven assist and Will Tschetter made his way onto that stat-sheet with seven points. The team went into the half with a 43-40 lead.

The Bad

The second half and overtime periods were a disaster. Michigan had 13 turnovers and 18 personal fouls. Defense. Turnovers. Points allowed. Where to start? They led up until 20 seconds left in the game, when Iowa’s Payton Sandfort shifted the momentum instantly. The unimaginable 4-point-play was the weapon of choice for Sandfort. The lanky guard was seemingly un-guardable all game, dropping a career high 26 off the bench.

However, he was not even the biggest problem. Iowa’s Kris Murray, brother of Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray, scored 27 points, hauled in eight boards, and tossed three assists. Even with the performance of Jett Howard, the rest of the squad needs to do more to help out him and Dickinson. In overtime, the Wolverines had no fight. Lazy coaching, bad IQ, misdirection. You name it.

Everything in Between for Michigan Basketball

In conclusion, last night’s game was a mixed bag for the Michigan basketball team. While Jett Howard put on an impressive performance in scoring 34 points, it was turnovers and poor team defense that proved to be their downfall. Hunter Dickinson and Dug McDaniel had solid games, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. The Wolverines need to focus on cleaning up their defense and limiting turnovers if they hope to have success in their upcoming games.

With a record of 3-2 in the Big Ten and 9-7 overall, the Wolverines will need to make improvements quickly as they head back home to play Northwestern on Sunday.