Big Win over Iowa sets Spartans for Big Ten Title

“All I can say is that it’s… an embarrassing loss the way we played,” “It was a total breakdown by just about every player on our team,” “We

“All I can say is that it’s… an embarrassing loss the way we played,” “It was a total breakdown by just about every player on our team,” “We deserved what we got.” That's what Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said of his team after last years lost to Iowa, and the sad thing is he was right. The trip to Carver Hawkeye Arena last year was memorable, but not in a good way. The game ended with the, then #6, Spartans setting an all time school low for points during the shot clock era, en route to a 36-43 loss. That's right, 36 points, only 18 a half… like a junior varsity high school team.
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For this seasons trip to Iowa City the Spartans varsity club showed up.  MSU manhandled the Hawkeyes to a 71-56 win. The Spartans two leading scorers (Durrell Summers with 21 and Kalin Lucas with 24) put up 45 points, topping last years total team out put. It was a drastic contrast to last year’s debacle which Izzo called "one of the poorest overall games we've played, maybe since I've been head coach.
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The Spartans didn't trail at any point in this win and are now 5-0 on the road in Big Ten play for the first time in the Izzo era. “We come into every game looking at ourselves as the road warriors,” Summers said. Their road performance drew the attention of Iowa coach Todd Lickliter who said of the Spartans "they're a well-coached, skilled, physical team. They present a lot of problems."
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This years version of the Spartans, let's call them Sparty version 2.009, has presented a lot of problems for the entire conference. That big win seems to be leading the Spartans to their first big ten title since 2000. MSU is now 1 and a half games ahead of Purdue and Minnesota and they find themselves in the driver seat of the conference with just ten games left.
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While the road is paved for a big ten title, it’s still a rocky one that won't allow the team to turn on the coast and cruise. The Spartans still have looming road tests against Michigan, #17 Purdue, and #20 Illinois and hosts Purdue and Wisconsin still. But Michigan State has won 13 of its last 14, the only hiccup being the aberration at home to Northwestern, and they appear to be peaking at the right time. MSU is again looking to get what they deserve, and this year, so far, they deserve a Big Ten title.