Michigan State Falls Short At Iowa, Losing 84-78

Michigan State battled with Iowa all night long, but in the end, fell short, losing 84-78.

It started with the first possession; if you tuned in, you saw Aaron Henry hit a 3-pointer for Michigan State to start, and things felt weird.

It wasn't bad; just different is all.

From there, the Spartans pushed the ball offensively – Joshua Langford and Henry were heavily involved and scoring in bunches.

Eventually, MSU made its first six three-pointers, with Joey Hauser and Rocket Watts joining in on the fun.

But it wasn't just the shooting percentage; Michigan State played the best they had in months and came into the contest with the confidence and energy necessary when competing against a team like Iowa.

Of course, the challenging part for MSU is finding ways to slow down Luka Garza, the Hawkeye superstar, and limit him. The game plan was quite simple; Tom Izzo decided to leave Marcus Bingham, Thomas Kithier, and Julius Marble in one-on-one situations with late help coming.

However, completely stopping Garza is a pipe dream – Iowa had their way with Michigan State in the paint, outscoring them 26-6.

Then you tack on their 24 bench points, plus the dreadful 5-for-20 shooting drought hurting MSU, and it's easy to understand the 16-6 run Iowa went on to close the half and enter the locker room leading, 48-43.

The Spartans also committed 15 first half fouls, allowing the Hawkeyes to shoot 18 free-throws (making 13) and slow the game down, which is the opposite of what MSU wants.

Entering the second half, six Michigan State players had two fouls, including Foster Loyer, Hauser, Langford, Bingham, Kithier, and Malik Hall.

Nearing the 16-minute marker, Langford drained two more 3-pointers, but the Spartan offense slowed down as the fouls mounted for Loyer and Bingham; both picked up their third.

A 7-for-18 start from the field (38.9%) couldn't stop Michigan State from hitting four additional deep balls and going on a 12-4 run to tie it at 61 after Iowa led by eight points.

Yet, even with 25 team fouls, the Hawkeyes struggled from the charity stripe (18-for-29), letting MSU hang around.

Could Michigan State pull off the upset?

Unfortunately for Spartan fans – no, but they made it close. 

In the final four minutes, Iowa fed Garza in the post, freeing him up for some easy buckets and frankly wearing MSU down. 

The 10-2 late run put the Hawkeyes in control prior to MSU ripping off a 6-0 run of their own and making it difficult on Iowa. 

As the seconds began dwindling, Langford rimmed a jumper in and out, ultimately leading to the Hawkeyes' victory. 

It's Michigan State's first four-game losing streak since 2007, but tonight, no one could question their effort and desire to win. 

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