IOWA CITY, Iowa _ It was the perfect storm.
Early foul trouble that hurt the defense. A poor offensive performance. Missed 50-50 balls and inopportune mistakes.
Put it all together and you have No. 5 Michigan's second loss of the season.
The Wolverines fell to Iowa, 74-59, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday night.
Michigan (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) fell behind by double-digits early after the Hawkeyes (17-5, 6-5) ripped off a 21-2 run. The Wolverines strung together a few stops in the second half and eventually cut it to five, but that was as close as they crept.
Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis finished with 16 points each to lead Michigan.
Iowa was paced by Luka Garza, who scored 19, and Joe Wieskamp, who scored 16.
Michigan took an early 17-12 lead, thanks to a quick 12 points from Brazdeikis.
Then things went sideways.
Iowa ripped off a 21-2 run from 10:28 to 5:47, jumping to a 33-19 lead _ Michigan's largest deficit of the season at that point.
Everything that could've went wrong did.
Jon Teske picked up two early fouls and played only one minute in the first half. Isaiah Livers, saddled with two fouls of his own, saw three minutes.
The Hawkeyes took advantage, scoring 22 points in the paint and nine second-chance points.
The situation became so dire that freshman center Colin Castleton _ who appeared in eight games before Friday _ played the final 2:26 of the first half.
On the other end, Michigan's offensive struggles continued against one of the worst defenses in the conference. During the game-deciding run, Iowa used a full-court press to delay Michigan's half-court offense and a 2-3 zone to force bad shots.
The Wolverines were tentative during this stretch, often getting past half-court with 20 seconds left on the shot clock. They probed around the perimeter and ended up with too many missed jumpers against Iowa's zone.
Michigan's offense has been in a slump over the past two weeks. Iowa's defense _ No. 120 in the nation entering the game _ provided a chance to get back on track.
That wasn't the case.
Brazdeikis was a bright spot early on, but missed his next seven shots after starting 4 for 5. Matthews started 0 for 6. As a team, Michigan struggled to finish at the rim and from anywhere inside the line; the Wolverines shot 9 for 21 on layups and 13 for 32 on all 2s.
Michigan chipped away to start the second half, albeit slowly. The Wolverines got it down to five with 9:43 left. Then Iowa's offense reignited, and Michigan couldn't keep up.
It's clear the Wolverines need a fix on offense. What's less clear is where that'll come from.
Michigan isn't a very deep team. For the first time all season, that was exposed.
The Wolverines are just a much different team without Teske. He's the defensive anchor, capable of defending on the perimeter and altering shots inside. Teske's rebounding was also much needed in the first half, when Iowa owned the offensive glass.
Although he's the team's fourth-leading scorer, his impact on offense can't be understated. Michigan's ball-screen offense is different without Teske on the floor. He gets himself open down low and has soft hands.
Teske and Michgan don't usually get into foul trouble. Still, it has been clear all season that the Wolverines need more from the bench. Michigan got three points from the bench. Iowa got 24.
Ultimately, that was one of the biggest reasons.
