EAST LANSING — Missed layups. Mishandled passes.
Another missed opportunity for Michigan State basketball.
Iowa entered Breslin Center on Tuesday night as the aggressor, jumping out to a 16-point lead early in the second half and withstanding the Spartans’ repeated attempts to recover to hand MSU a 78-71 loss.
MSU (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) went 10-for-20 from 3-point range but just 17-for-40 inside the arc, blowing a bunch of bunnies around the basket — the Spartans missed eight layups, not including short jumpers that rimmed out — and struggling to defend the interior against the Hawkeyes (16-11, 8-8). Iowa finished with a 40-28 scoring advantage in the paint and turned eight Spartan turnovers into 14 points.
MSU’s shot chart showed 17 missed shots in the paint in total.
“They absolutely killed every one of our post guys,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “I have to come up with something better on that. We haven’t had that happen. And it was just layup after layup. … The number of layups missed and the number of layups they got was the difference in the game.
“And there was just an energy level that wasn’t there. We haven’t had many games where we just flat out didn’t bring it. Tonight, we flat out didn’t bring it.”
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Tyson Walker scored 16 points for MSU but was just 6-for-16, making two of his seven 2-point attempts with four 3-pointers. Malik Hall scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting with 10 rebounds and five assists. A.J. Hoggard scored all 15 of his points in the second half, going 6-for-12 and adding five assists.
The Spartans, who have lost five of their past six games to the Hawkeyes, next host Ohio State for their only meeting this season at 4 p.m. Sunday (CBS).
Payton Sandfort scored 22 points with six rebounds for Iowa, while Ben Krikke dominated inside with 18 points and 14 boards. Patrick McCaffery added 14 points for the Hawkeyes, who shot 50.9% overall and made 24 of 42 shots inside the 3-point arc.
Iowa powers inside
Iowa’s plan was clear from the outset: Attack MSU’s interior defense. And it paid off early and often en route to a 12-point halftime lead.
Starting forward Mady Sissoko picked up two fouls quickly and sat out the remaining 17:42 of the first half. Carson Cooper replaced him, then was whistled for his second foul and hit the bench for the last 6:16. The Spartans had a 27-24 lead at that point, with the teams trading runs and MSU hot from 3-point range.
With those two out, though, the Hawkeyes ripped off a 15-1 run as McCaffery converted a three-point play to start it on Cooper’s second whistle. MSU had few answers for the 6-foot-9, 212-pound Iowa senior, who hit all four of his shots and four of five free-throws for 12 points at the break.
The Hawkeyes had a 16-4 scoring edge in the paint after McCaffery’s steal and dunk capped a 10-0 run during that stretch. Then Iowa drained three of its four first-half 3-pointers over the final 5:14, two from Payton Sandfort and one from Pryce Sandfort. That put the Spartans into a 45-33 hole at half.
“The defense,” Hoggard said about the big Iowa run. “That team scored 15 points, and we couldn’t put the ball in the basket. I think we were getting some shots that we usually make. They didn’t drop tonight. But I think we didn’t rely on our defense as how we have been over the last couple games.
“I mean, the last game (at Michigan), the last seven minutes, we didn’t allow a basket. But we allowed 15 points in a short span of time, so I didn’t think we were just there defensively tonight.”
MSU, meantime, went 7-for-14 from 3-point range, including three from Walker for all nine of his points. He was 3-for-8 overall, missing his three shots inside the arc. Hoggard also missed a pair of layups and was 0-for-4 and scoreless at the break. Jaden Akins was just 1-for-4 on 3s and missed his only 2-point attempt.
The Spartans shot 37.9% overall in the first half but went just 4-for-15 inside the 3-point arc. The Hawkeyes also turned five MSU turnovers into nine points by the break.
Krikke had 11 points and nine boards by half, while Payton Sandfort scored 10 as Iowa hit 57.1% overall and went 4-for-9 from outside.
A second-half rally
MSU’s second-half plan was clear from the outset: Attack Iowa inside to try and get back in the game.
Hoggard began to assert himself off the dribble, knifing into the paint for four driving layups in the first 5:31 without a miss. Hall added a pair of buckets on the interior, as the Spartans pulled back within single digits on Hall’s drive down the right side and up-and-under layup.
Walker and Akins drained a pair of 3-pointers to keep trimming, and layups by Hall and Walker pulled MSU back within 62-56 with 7:10 to play. But the Spartans started struggling again in close, fumbling entry passes and missing shots in the paint, and Iowa stretched it back to 70-59 on a layup by Payton Sandfort with 4:20 to play.
The Spartans clawed back within five by riding its defense to get some key stops, with Walker finding Tre Holloman on a back-cut for one score and Hoggard hitting Hall with a bounce pass for a dunk after forcing a Hawkeyes shot-clock violation. MSU coach Tom Izzo called timeout with 2:31 left.
But the problems that plagued them persisted, and the Spartans’ hope to maintain their momentum disappeared as Cooper fumbled a pass from Hall out of bounds with 1:40 to play. Owen Freeman’s dunk less than 30 seconds later sealed MSU’s second Big Ten home loss and third overall at Breslin this season.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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