Payton Sandfort scored 22 points and Iowa led throughout the second half of a 78-71 win over Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., on Tuesday night.
Ben Krikke went for 18 points and 14 rebounds for Iowa (16-11, 8-8 Big Ten), which defeated then-No. 20 Wisconsin in overtime in its previous game. Patrick McCaffery added 14 points and Owen Freeman chipped in eight for the Hawkeyes.
Malik Hall had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Spartans (17-10, 9-7), who saw their three-game winning streak snapped. Tyson Walker also scored 16 points and A.J. Hoggard had 15.
Iowa raced to a 45-33 halftime lead. McCaffery led the way with 12 points and Krikke nearly assured his double-double before the break with 11 points and nine rebounds. Michigan State shot just 37.9 percent in the first half.
The Spartans led 19-15 near the midpoint of the half after Jaden Akins hit a 3-pointer. A trey by Tre Holloman with 6:34 remaining capped a 6-0 run and gave Michigan State a 27-24 advantage.
From there, the Hawkeyes took control. They went on an 18-3 run to take a double-digit lead. McCaffery got it going with five consecutive points. Krikke also had a personal five-point run during that span, and Sandfort capped it with a 3-pointer.
Sandfort also answered a 3-pointer by Walker with another of his own in the final minute of the half.
Iowa extended the lead to 16 points by scoring the first two baskets of the second half on layups from Sandfort and Freeman.
The Spartans used a 6-0 run, including two baskets by Hall, to cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to eight at 54-46.
Akins hit a 3-pointer with 9:32 left to trim a 10-point lead to 59-52. A layup by Walker just over two minutes later cut the Spartans’ deficit to six.
Sandfort’s layup with 4:20 remaining pushed Iowa’s lead back to 11, 70-59.
The Spartans scored the next six points, including a dunk by Hall, to cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to five. A layup by Sandfort and a dunk from Freeman effectively put the game away.
–Field Level Media
