Adam Ballinger couldn't have asked for a better ending.
The senior from Bluffton, Indiana broke out of his season-long slump to score a
career-high 22 points on Senior Night, propelling State to an 82-54 victory over
conference rival Iowa.
The win hands the Spartans (17-11, 9-6 Big Ten) their seventh win in nine conference
contests, promoting the NCAA tournament bubble team to a 4th place tie with former
front-runner Purdue. Iowa, meanwhile, fell to 6-9 in the conference, and 14-12 overall.
State opened up the game with a 16-0 advantage, led by eight Ballinger points, and
never looked back. At halftime, the Spartans led 39-16, and at one point, led by as many
as 35.
Ballinger was assisted by sophomores Alan Anderson (14 points), Chris Hill (11 points),
and Kelvin Torbert (10 points). Each player shot better than .500 from the field.
Iowa was led by center Jared Reiner with 17 points, but the Hawkeyes committed 19
turnovers and shot just .36 percent from the field.
Michigan State, who could only improve its NCAA tournament prospects with another win
and an impressive Big Ten tournament showing, will travel to Ohio State to battle the
inconsistent Buckeyes on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:17pm