Wolverine TV: Phil Martelli, Michigan players react to senior night loss to Iowa
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines basketball associate head coach Phil Martelli, senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. and freshman wing Caleb Houstan met with the media following the team’s 82-71 loss to Iowa Thursday night at Crisler Center.
With the loss, Michigan falls to 16-13 overall and 10-9 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines are searching for at least one more victory to secure an NCAA Tournament berth, and the last chance in the regular season comes Sunday at Ohio State. Kenpom’s early projection for the game is a four-point Ohio State win, 75-71, which makes this loss all the more disappointing for the Maize and Blue.
Martelli discussed how the up and down nature of his group — Michigan hasn’t won two straight contests since Feb. 8 and Feb. 10 — is going to hurt them down the stretch if the consistency doesn’t improve. There are no home games left to figure that out, either, unless the Wolverines host an NIT game at Crisler. Both Houstan and Johns admitted that the team knows what’s on the line going into Sunday in Columbus, even though the former wouldn’t go further than to say that every game is a “must win.”
Michigan Wolverines basketball honored five senior players ahead of its final home game of the season — Eli Brooks, Jaron Faulds, DeVante’ Jones, Johns and Adrien Nunez (watch the ceremony here).
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A two-time team captain, Brooks has played in and won more games than any other Michigan basketball player, a mainstay in the starting lineup since his true junior season in 2019-20. Jones transferred in from Coastal Carolina and has been much improved since the beginning of this season, while Johns, who had a bigger role the last two seasons, is playing a backup role. Outside of his four starts early in the 2019-20 season, Nunez has been a reserve his entire career, and the same goes for Faulds, who transferred in from Columbia.
For more on Michigan basketball vs. Iowa, watch the postgame press conferences below.
Associate Head Coach Phil Martelli
Freshman Wing Caleb Houstan
Senior Forward Brandon Johns Jr.
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