Michigan State dropped its first home game of the calendar year as the Spartans fell to Iowa 78-71. The loss marked just the third time in the 2023-2024 season that MSU was defeated in the Breslin Center, and the first since losing 70-57 to Wisconsin on Dec. 5, 2023.
It was a “disappointing” night all around as Michigan State fell to 17-10 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play coming off of three-straight wins.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” guard Tyson Walker said in the locker room after the game. “We only got, well now, two more home games left. To come in and play so poorly, I’m definitely disappointed. I don’t know. I thought we [were] playing hard, putting games together, last couple. And we just didn’t do it today. We kind of reverted back to the old us. We can’t do that.”
Walker and forward Malik Hall were the leading scorers for Michigan State in the loss. Both scored 16 points. Point guard A.J. Hoggard was right behind them with 15 points.
“I don’t like losing, especially when we were on the up that we were on,” Hoggard said. “And knowing what these games mean, every game is a big game, especially toward the end. It’s depressing. It’s draining.”
While Hoggard was one of the team’s top scorers, he left some points on the board. Hoggard missed three layups, something that bugs him enough to ensure that he will be in the gym working on it the next day.
“I gotta do better,” Hoggard said about the layup woes. “They know I’m not missing them on purpose, but I mean you’re at high-level basketball, you gotta make those plays, especially when you’re around the rim. And [the] majority of them [were] free layups, if you ask me. Layups that I usually make. I gotta be better.”
One of the main reasons why the Spartans struggled on Tuesday night was the defense, more specifically the lack thereof. Iowa shot 51% from the field and put up 45 points in the first half. It was quite the stark difference from the defensive run Michigan State went on to end its last game against Michigan (held the Wolverines scoreless for the final 7:01).
“I think we didn’t rely on our defense like we had over the last couple of games,” Hoggard added.
Michigan State will have a longer prep coming up as the Spartans don’t play again until Sunday when they host Ohio State. After that, they don’t have another game until Saturday, March 2 at No. 3 Purdue.
Hoggard said that the extended days between games could be both good and bad for the team. He added that the team needs to put their “hard hat” on and get ready to work ahead of Sunday’s game against the Buckeyes, who are coming off an upset home win against Purdue.
“Just gotta figure it out,” Hoggard said. “Stack days when that time comes. Stack these next couple days and get better and prepare for Sunday.”
With the loss, the margin of error to make the NCAA Tournament and get a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament is slimmer for Michigan State.
“We know that the margin of error is very small, especially in this conference,” Walker explained. “Top to bottom, anyone can beat anyone. So just gotta be on your game. Can’t take anything for granted. Can’t get possessions back so everything counts.”
The lack of energy right from the opening tip was evident and something that head coach Tom Izzo pointed to as a reason why the Spartans lost. Hall is determined to make sure that this isn’t a recurring thing anymore.
“I think it’s just about making sure that we’re focused for every single game and that we’re ready to go for every single game, so that something like this doesn’t happen again,” Hall said.
