Freshmen Shine As Michigan State Defeats Iowa At Home
The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes at home on Saturday, bolstered by standout performances from their freshmen.
Four freshmen scored in double-digits for the Michigan State Spartans (15-10, 7-5) on Saturday as they got back on track with a 77-66 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes (14-12, 6-7).
The teams traded the lead back and forth through the first half, neither side building a lead larger than five points in the first 20 minutes, and the Hawkeyes took a 32-31 lead to halftime, despite Michigan State outshooting Iowa in the first half (13/31, 41.9% to 12/34, 35.3%).
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The Spartans committed 12 first-half turnovers to the Hawkeyes’ three, which led to Iowa taking three more shots from the floor than Michigan State despite being outrebounded 26-16 in the half.
A Nick Ward dunk put the Spartans ahead 37-36 early in the second half and Michigan State would not relinquish that lead. A 17-6 run increased that lead to double-digits and the Spartans would lead by as many as 14 on their way to a 77-66 win.
Four Michigan State freshmen scored in double-digits, led by Miles Bridges, who had his fifth career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ward scored 14 points and Joshua Langford scored 11, each picking up five rebounds, and Cassius Winston led the Spartans in assists with five in addition to his 12 points.
Ward, Langford and Winston combined for 32 second-half points while Bridges scored only two after a 14-point first half.
Kenny Goins also grabbed ten rebounds as Michigan State outrebounded Iowa 46-32 in the game. Despite their offensive output, the Spartans tied a season-high for turnovers for the second game in a row with 21.
The Hawkeyes’ leading scorer on the season, Peter Jok, was held to 13 points on two-of-11 shooting from the floor, including missing all five of his three-point attempts. He made nine of his 11 free throw attempts. Iowa shot poorly as a team, making 21 of 64 field goal attempts (32.8%) and only four of 21 three-points attempts (19.0%).
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The Spartans will host Ohio State on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN.