Season snapshot in Iowa's loss to Michigan State (with locker room video)

INDIANAPOLIS - A snapshot of Iowa's basketball season was condensed into one game Thursday afternoon. It was tight, it was gritty and it was a loss.

The Hawkeyes battled seventh-seeded Michigan State for 40 minutes, even taking a seven-point lead with 11:40 left in the game. But an almost traditional scoring lapse coupled with a last-second missed shot for the tie cost Iowa in a 66-61 loss in a Big Ten Tournament opening-round game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"We had a number of chances late today (against Michigan State), Wisconsin, Michigan, at Northwestern to win those kind of games," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said, "and all of a sudden you win those and you say this is a heck of a record; everything is different."

Instead, it's one game representing a now-completed season in a microcosm. Iowa, the 10th seed, has lost seven games by five points or less this season and finished 11-20 overall. It was also Iowa's fifth consecutive Big Ten Tournament loss. Michigan State (18-13) plays second-seeded Purdue in the Big Ten quarterfinals Friday.

After trailing for most of the game, Iowa went on an 8-0 run midway through the second half to take a 52-45 lead. The final points of the run were scored on a Devyn Marble assist to a streaking Eric May, who was fouled while dunking the ball over Michigan State's Draymond Green. May hit the free throw and 11:40 remained.

Then the Hawkeyes unraveled. Michigan State cruised past Iowa, scoring on six consecutive possessions on a 14-2 run. The Spartans opened a 59-54 lead with 6:13 left and appeared to be in complete control of the game.

"I think we broke down," Iowa senior Jarryd Cole said. "We got back on defense, and and we couldn't find the shooters. Guys were driving it in the gap and finding open men."

"We just weren't making the plays defensively that we needed to make to extend that game to 10," May said. "I missed a 3 from the corner that would have extended it to 10. We just needed to slow down and get a really good one on offense and we'll get stops on defense. We just got hurried."

Iowa scrapped back and got a few defensive stops. Trailing by four inside of two minutes, Iowa freshman Zach McCabe dove out of bounds to retrieve a rebound on a Bryce Cartwright miss. McCabe then rotated around the the perimeter and drilled a 3-pointer to cut Iowa's deficit to 62-61 with 1:33 left in the game.

Two possessions later and trailing 64-61, Iowa junior Matt Gatens spotted up for a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left. He shot over Michigan State's Mike Kebler but it hit the rim and bounced to Michigan State's Durrell Summers, who promptly was fouled and sealed the game with a pair of free throws.

Kebler appeared to make contact with Gatens, but no foul was called.

"You have to get hit pretty hard for them to call it," Gatens said. "But Coach (McCaffery) was yelling; he obviously thought I did. I thought I made the shot. It was just short.

"(The shot) felt great. It was kind of an awkward shot, getting contact and shooting it. I thought I made it, which would have been a lot of fun. Going to overtime maybe. It was disappointing we couldn't finish it because we had them."

McCaffery lit into the officials seeking a foul call, but he declined to comment about it in his postgame remarks.

"Whether or not it was a foul or not, you have to determine that," he said.

It was a tough end for junior Andrew Brommer and freshman Melsahn Basabe. Brommer left the game with a sprained neck after a first-half collision on a loose ball. Basabe was hit with his second foul just three minutes in the game and sat for the rest of the half. He finished with six points, two rebounds and three turnovers in 14 minutes.

"I just learned from today that you've got to stay composed," Basabe said. "I didn't stay composed the whole game. I was trying to bounce back, trying to bounce back and I never quite bounced back. That's what kind of caused my performance today."

It also ended Jarryd Cole's Iowa career. Cole, a three-year captain, scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss.

"We're going to miss him," May said. "He's been our leader emotionally and on the court. He's helped us to become a better team throughout these last few months.

"He's just a warrior."

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