Moments before this ballgame started, it was announced that CJ Fredrick would be out for the Hawkeyes. That would appear to be killer, right? Apparently not, as the Hawkeyes came out firing and never looked back. Led by Joe Wieskamp who scored 21 points, including 15 of those from beyond the arch. Something that may surprise the public was Luka Garza, scoring just 8 points on 3/11 shooting. The 8 point performance was his first game in 44 games under 10 points. However, if you’re looking on Iowa’s viewpoint of this it’s a positive that Garza doesn’t need to carry the load every night. There are capable shooters on that Iowa team, including Connor McCaffery. McCaffery had 16 points, a season high. 12 of those points came from long range which isn’t something you would expect if you were to watch this Iowa team play. Lastly, Redshirt Sophomore Forward Jack Nunge made his name present. Nunge totaled 18 points on 7/11 shooting, he also collected 11 rebounds.
For the Spartans, it was a disaster from the start. They allowed Iowa to get up early on in this game and simply could just not stop them. To make matters worse, Michigan State was unable to get much of a flow going on offense. Allowing Iowa to go on runs for the entirety of the game. The Spartans shot just 22/62 (35.5%) from this field in this matchup, including 6/21 (28.6%) from 3. On the bright side, Junior Forward Gabe Brown scored 15 points, the most since December 13th when he scored 20 against Oakland. This was Tom Izzo’s worst home loss in 26 seasons, and MSU’s second loss by 30 this season. That other 30 point loss was on the road at Rutgers, as they fell 67-37.
For Iowa, they have 4 full days to prepare for a Wisconsin team who takes on the conference leading Michigan Wolverines tomorrow. That game will take place next Thursday at 6 PM CT from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
It doesn’t get easier for the Spartans, as they hit the road against the Purdue Boilermakers. Michigan State hasn’t won at Mackey Arena since 2014, obviously it’s different this season than most. Last time these two met, Purdue stole one in East Lansing, winning 55-54 after Trevion Williams’ game winning floater with 4 seconds left in that one. Revenge on the line for the Spartans on Tuesday at 6 PM CT.