Michigan State men’s basketball gets crushed on the road against Iowa, 86-60

The Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball team was on the road on Tuesday night to take on the No. 25-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan State was blown out by Iowa in embarrassing fashion, with a final score 86 to 60.

Michigan State center Marcus Bingham Jr. scored the opening basket of the game, but then it was a struggle, to say the least, for the Spartans. The Hawkeyes took a 13-4 lead at the first media timeout, with forward Keegan Murray scoring six of those points for Iowa. A free throw immediately after the break from guard Tony Perkins pushed Iowa’s lead to 10 points.

A step-back jumper by Michigan State forward Malik Hall after an offensive rebound by freshman guard Jaden Akins, a three-pointer by Akins and a two-point jumper by center Julius Marble cut the deficit to three points, with Iowa leading 14-11.

At the under 12-minute-media timeout in the first half, Iowa built its lead back up to nine points at 22-13. Murray scored eight-straight points for the Hawkeyes, including back-to-back three-pointers, during that run.

It was all Hawkeyes for the rest of the first half (and really the rest of the game). Iowa strengthened its lead to 15 points at 37-22 with 6:25 to play before halftime, thanks to a barrage of three-pointers. Michigan State eventually trimmed Iowa’s lead down to 10 points with 3:40 to play, following a jumper by Marble and a three-pointer by freshman shooting guard Max Christie. Iowa led 39-29 at that point.

However, Iowa built its lead back up to 14 points at halftime. Patrick McCaffery drilled a shot from behind the arc with 1:34 left in the first half, and the Hawkeyes took a 46-32 lead into the locker rooms.

Murray scored 18 points in the first half for Iowa, while Hall scored 14 points for the Spartans. Turnovers continued to plague the Spartans, as Michigan State turned it over seven times.

Also of note, Michigan State freshman guard (and wide receiver on the football team) Keon Coleman played three minutes in the first half. Coleman would later make a three-pointer later in the second half.

Michigan State scored the first four points of the second half, cutting the deficit to 10 points, but that momentum didn’t last long. Seven minutes into the half, Iowa grew its lead to 17 points at 61-44, following back-to-back three-pointers by guard Jordan Bohannon.

From there, the Hawkeyes continued to completely dominate the second half, outscoring the Spartans 40-28 in the final 20 minutes. Iowa drilled seven three-pointers in the first half and five shots from deep in the second half, going 12-for-28 from behind the arc in total (43 percent). MSU could not keep up, making just eight of its 26 three-point attempts (31 percent).

Overall, Iowa shot 43 percent from the field, going 28-for-65. Meanwhile, Michigan State shot 25-for-71, just 35 percent, from the field. The Hawkeyes narrowly out-rebounded the Spartans 44-43. MSU turned the ball over 12 times, compared to just eight giveaways for Iowa.

Murray, who the Spartans had no answer for, scored a game-high 28 points for Iowa. Hall led Michigan State with 17 points, but scored only three points in the second half.

Iowa improves its record to 19-8 overall, and 9-7 in Big Ten play. Michigan State, on the other hand, falls to 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten Conference. MSU has now lost three games in a row, and five of its last six games overall.

The Spartans are reeling right now and have another tough matchup coming up at home on Saturday against No. 4 Purdue. That game tips off at noon Eastern Time and will be broadcast on ESPN.