No. 8 MSU Dismantles Iowa in Second Half to Win Conference Outright

No. 8 Michigan State will not have to share its 2025 Big Ten regular season title.

Despite trailing by as many as 14, the Spartans were able to rally against Iowa on the road on Thursday night, ultimately downing the Hawkeyes, 91-84.

Michigan State outscored Iowa, 61-47, in the second half, which included an impressive 61.3% field-goal percentage and a 45.5% clip from deep from the Spartans.

Freshman guard Jase Richardson led the way for Michigan State, scoring a game-high 22 points. He was one of five Spartans to finish in double figures in scoring, the others being senior guard Jaden Akins (15), junior forward Jaxon Kohler (15), redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (career-high 14) and junior guard Tre Holloman (11).

Michigan State got out to an 11-5 start, its first 5 points coming from Fears.

After that, though, disaster would strike, as Iowa would put together a 7-0 run that expanded to a 22-2 run that saw the Spartans go scoreless for nearly 4-and-a-half minutes.

But consecutive triples from Richardson and Holloman would finally end the drought, trimming the deficit back to single digits with just over 8 minutes remaining before the break.

Richardson would hit another 3 with just over 4-and-a-half minutes to go in the half, bringing Michigan State to within 7, the closest it had been since the 11:09 mark.

The freshman would lead all scorers at the half with 12.

That was the closest the Spartans got the rest of the half, as that would ultimately be the halftime deficit, the Hawkeyes holding a 37-30 advantage.

Iowa's zone defense had proven to be effective against a Spartan team that has struggled against the zone before. Michigan State would go just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc while only scoring 16 points in the paint.

It also got to the charity stripe just twice.

The Spartans kept hanging around, but any time they start to show signs of a rally, Iowa had an answer.

Just over 2-and-a-half minutes into the second half, Kohler would manage to convert an and-1 opportunity, bringing Michigan State to within 8.

The Spartans would go back down 10 before another triple from Holloman would cut the deficit back to 7.

Like clockwork, though, the Hawkeyes kept combatting and would take a 9-point lead again before Akins finally sank one from downtown to make it a 49-43 game with 14:24 to go.

Iowa, again, responded with a bucket, but a converted and-1 from Richardson would bring Michigan State to within two possessions with 13:38 remaining.

But shortly after, Iowa would extend the lead back to 10, as Michigan State's window for a comeback continued to narrow.

The Spartans were finally able to break through, though, as they put together an 11-0 run that included another 3 from Akins and back-to-back alley-oop slams from sophomore forward Coen Carr, who finished with 8 points.

Just like that, Michigan State took a 59-58 edge, its first since leading 11-5.

The Spartans would stretch their lead to 66-60 with another run shortly after, this time with 7 unanswered points to cap off what was, altogether, an 18-2 run.

A third triple from Akins would ignite its largest unanswered run of the game, 14-0, which all but put the game out of hand for the Hawkeyes.

They kept fighting, but it wasn't enough, as Michigan State was able to hang on for another epic win.

The Spartans will close out the regular season on Sunday when they host rival Michigan on Senior Day. Tip-off is set for noon.

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