Iowa men’s basketball sputters after hot start in loss to No. 8 Michigan State

IOWA CITY — For much of Thursday night, it was easy to forget Iowa men’s basketball’s many 2024-25 tribulations.

Fran McCaffery’s Hawkeyes were ahead of a top-10 (and Big Ten-leading) foe. An engaged Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd was on its feet at one point with 12-plus minutes. Iowa, in Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo’s opinion, did a “hell of a job.”

“Fran outcoached us, his team outplayed us (for) 75 percent of that game,” Izzo said.

Then the unfortunate reality reemerged for Iowa (15-15, 6-13) as it blew a double-digit lead and suffered a 91-84 loss to No. 8 Michigan State (25-5, 16-3) in Thursday’s home finale.

Michigan State used an 18-2 run midway through the second half to fuel the comeback, turning a 10-point deficit into a six-point lead. Tom Izzo’s Spartans went on a 14-2 run later in the half to essentially put the game out of reach.

Iowa allowed Michigan State to shoot 61.3 percent from the field in the second half as the Spartans pulled off the comeback. Guard Jaden Akins and forward Jaxon Kohler combined to score 24 second-half points on 9-of-13 shooting.

“They started hitting shots,” Iowa forward Payton Sandfort said. “I don’t think we necessarily did a lot of wrong things. We missed some shots. We had a couple more turnovers in the second half. But we rebounded really well.”

To Sandfort’s point, Izzo will be the last one to take credit for the Spartans’ offensive resurgence.

“Don’t let any of my staff or me tell you there were these great offensive adjustments,” Izzo said. “We changed a few things on the ball screen coverage, but for the most (part), it was real simple. It’s really basic. It doesn’t take anything, no analytics, no all this other crap. It took ‘play harder.’”

Jase Richardson ended up leading Michigan State in scoring with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Thursday’s loss was despite relatively positive numbers for the Iowa offense. The Hawkeyes shot 47.6 percent — significantly better than the 40.2 percent that Michigan State has allowed this season.

“That’s the toughest offense to cover that I’ve covered all year,” Izzo said. “And we played Kansas and Carolina and Memphis and all the Big Ten schools.”

Josh Dix led Iowa with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Payton and Pryce Sandfort had 15 and 12 points, respectively. Seydou Traore had 15 points while shooting an efficient 6-for-9 in the loss.

“He’s had a fell of a career,” Izzo said regarding Payton Sandfort, who was playing in his final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It was an honor and a privilege to have him in this league.

The Hawkeyes suffered their 13th loss of the Big Ten slate despite going on a 22-2 run in the first half and taking a 27-13 lead. They retained the lead for the rest of the first half and much of the second half.

Michigan State’s comeback marked its first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2019. Iowa had previously won five of the last six games in the series. Thursday’s win also gave the Spartans an outright Big Ten title.

Iowa will conclude its regular season slate on Sunday at Nebraska. A win in Lincoln is necessary for the Hawkeyes to clinch one of the 15 spots in the Big Ten tournament.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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