No.6 MSU Stunned At Iowa

A sloppy game for both teams led to Iowa getting the upper hand with some clutch shooting

Michigan State came in to Iowa City as the second highest scoring team in the Big Ten.

But they left the court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena only managing to muster 36, falling to a struggling Iowa team that was previously winless in Big Ten play.

The Spartans were plagued all game by foul trouble, sending the Hawkeyes (8-9, 1-3 Big Ten) to the free-throw line for 29 attempts to MSU’s four.

The Spartans (14-2, 2-1 Big Ten) had seen this foul differential before, falling in Ann Arbor two years ago to Michigan, sending them to the line for 34 attempts to MSU’s 10.

Combined with 18 turnovers, MSU had as many turnovers as they had points in each of the two halves on the night.

After jumping out to an 18-9 first half lead, the Spartans went scoreless the last 8:09, trailing 20-18 at halftime. The Hawkeyes remarkably shot just 22 percent in the first half but were leading.

The second half was much of the same struggles for the green and white, as the personal fouls piled up and Iowa saw themselves in the bonus with 9:46 to play.

Despite the mistakes and poor play, MSU stayed within reach for most of the second half, bringing the game within 35-34 with 3:04 to play.

Iowa turned the ball over on their next possession and Drew Neitzel had a clear shot at an open layup, but as his shot rolled on the top of the rim, Kurt Looby seemed to commit offensive goaltending by snatching the ball from the rim.

But instead, a loose ball foul was called on Kalin Lucas, and Looby made one of two free-throws at the other end.

With 1:10 to play and Iowa running the clock, Tony Freeman stepped up and put the Spartans away with a three-pointer as the shot-clock ran down. The basket put Iowa up 39-34 and four free-throws put MSU away.

Freeman scored 22 points for Iowa, who made just 11 field goals in the game, but was enough to give the Hawkeyes their first Big Ten win.

The loss snapped MSU’s 11-game winning streak, which got 10 points each from Raymar Morgan and Drew Neitzel.