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Too easy! Iowa drops foul-plagued Blue

IOWA CITY -- Before the pregame show, before the Super Bowl, even before the special episode of "Friends," Michigan and Iowa played a men's basketball game.

If you're a Wolverine fan and you missed it, don't worry.

"Friends" was much prettier.

The 16th-ranked Wolverines turned the ball over 23 times in their 70-61 loss, which dropped their Big Ten record to 4-3 and their chins to their chests.

"At the end of the first half, I saw Iowa sprinting up the floor and I saw us with our heads down," said Michigan coach Steve Fisher, whose team is now 14-6 on the year. "We had a feel and a look of a team that didn't think it could win."

The No. 22 Hawkeyes' sprint off the floor followed their sprint to a nine-point halftime lead. Andre Woolridge scored 14 first-half points and Jess Settles added 20 for Iowa (4-3, Big Ten, 15-4, overall). But the most important play of the game didn't involve any scoring at all.

Fisher sent Louis Bullock into the game with 0:42.8 left in the first half to make an impact. Unfortunately for Fisher, the only impact Bullock made was on Kenyon Murray's chest. Bullock charged into Murray three seconds before halftime.

It was Bullock's fourth foul.

It ruined his day.

"It was poor judgment on his part, for sure," Fisher said, "and maybe on my part as well for assuming he would have better judgment."

After the foul, Iowa chose to have Ryan Bowen throw a full-court pass off the hands of Jess Settles to Murray for a layup at the buzzer. The Hawkeyes had a 39-30 lead. Just 4:27 earlier, the game was tied at 30.

Michigan would get no closer than seven after the break. Iowa went on a 13-6 run to start the second half, stretching its lead to 52-36. The Wolverines then called timeout to regroup, a tactic that proved successful, at least temporarily. Michigan's Albert White nailed a 3-pointer, sparking a 11-2 Wolverine burst that closed the lead to 54-47.

But then Iowa opened the gap once again. Mon'ter Glasper hit a jumper. Michigan's Maceo Baston made a free throw, but Woolridge came back and made a 3-pointer. The Wolverines would score consecutive baskets only once more, in the final 30 seconds of the contest. By that time, it was hardly a contest.

Woolridge was a big reason why.

"We had a great game," said Iowa coach Tom Davis. "The beauty of a point guard is that you can have a really great game without scoring 20. You can have a great game scoring two."

Woolridge had a really great game while scoring 28, tying his career-high. He hit 10 of 13 shots, including all three of his 3-point attempts. Bullock guarded Woolridge in the first half, but Travis Fryman switched to Woolridge after Bullock picked up his fourth foul.

"Bullock getting in foul trouble probably helped," Davis said.

Bullock's foul problems also seemed to plague him offensively. He made just two of nine shots in the second half and didn't have a single rebound or assist.

"Bullock, when he got into foul trouble, played like a youngster, which he is," Fisher said. "We've come to expect Lou not to play like a freshman."

Any late Michigan comeback hopes were shot down by Jess Settles. The Iowa junior threw three long bounce passes for Hawkeye layups in the final 2:09. Those plays, which thrilled the crowd of 15,510, sealed Michigan's fate.

And Iowa sprinted off the floor again, this time with a victory in its pockets.