With a three-game winning streak, Michigan State men’s basketball had a chance to advance to a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament with a home game against Iowa on Tuesday.
Instead, the Spartans were defeated 78-71 by the Hawkeyes, calling into question MSU’s “progress” over the previous few weeks. Michigan State led 27-24 with 6:16 left in the first half tonight, but was outscored 21-6 in the final six minutes, leaving them down 45-33 at halftime.
The Hawkeyes scored the first four points of the second half to swiftly increase their advantage to 16 points, but MSU found some offensive answers against Iowa’s 2-3 zone. The Spartans scored 24 points in the paint in the final 20 minutes but were unable to earn enough defensive stops to make a comeback. Michigan State closed to within five points with 2:30 left in the game, but their rally stalled.
As a result, the Spartans slip to fifth place in the Big Ten standings, a half-game behind Northwestern and Wisconsin. Here are five takeaways from a terrible night in East Lansing.
As again, the Hawkeyes brought one of the most productive offenses in the Big Ten and the country to East Lansing, and Michigan State’s defense was shredded in the first half. Iowa hit 57% from the field, 44% from beyond the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes’ 45 first-half points were the second-most the Spartans have allowed all season.
