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Michigan State collapses, loses to Iowa in overtime, 112-106

Tyson Walker led MSU in scoring at Iowa
Tyson Walker led MSU in scoring at Iowa (© Joseph Cress / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Michigan State hit the road to Iowa City to take on the Iowa. Both teams are situated in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten standings, so this was an important game for both squads.

Unfortunately for Michigan State, and despite having a double-digit lead with less than two minutes to play in regulation, the Spartans shockingly lost to the Hawkeyes in overtime by a final score of 112-106.

The Spartans opened the scoring with a jump shot by sophomore guard Jaden Akins, who was celebrating is 20th birthday on Saturday. Junior center Mady Sissoko also got on the board early for the Spartans with a dunk.

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It was a high-scoring first five minutes by both teams. MSU started 5-for-7 from the field and the Hawkeyes started 6-for-10. Iowa junior forward Kris Murray had six of Iowa’s first 12 points.

Giveaways were an issue early on for the Spartans. MSU had seven turnovers at the 12-minute mark in the first half. Six of those turnovers were in a five-minute span.

Senior guard Tyson Walker had a turnover early on in the first half as Murray intercepted his pass. However, Walker tracked down Murray and stripped the ball from him, sending it out of bounds to prevent an easy bucket.

Iowa fed fifth-year forward Filip Rebraca in the post early on. Rebraca started 5-for-5 shooting as Iowa got out to a 21-18 lead with 9:50 to play in the opening half.

Michigan State graduate senior forward Joey Hauser made his first shot almost 12 minutes into the first half, a 3-pointer from the top of key. MSU started to catch fire as the Spartans made four of their last five field goals heading into the under-eight-minute media timeout.

Hauser stayed hot as he made two more 3-pointers, the second of which gave MSU a 34-31 lead. MSU started the game 4-for-5 from 3-point land.

Akins tied the game at 42 with a 3-pointer for the Spartans in their final possession of the half. The 42 points were the most in a first half for the Spartans this season.

MSU had two players in double-digits at halftime: Hauser (11 points) and Walker (10 points). Akins wasn’t far behind as he totaled eight points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Spartans shot very well from beyond the arc in the first half (6-for-8, 75%), but they struggled in the turnover department. Michigan State had nine turnovers compared to Iowa’s three at halftime. Iowa had 12 points off the MSU turnovers. MSU’s shooting kept the Green and White in the game. The Spartans took seven less shots than Iowa did in the opening half.

Michigan State continued shooting well in the second half. The Spartans started the second half 1-for-3 from the field, but then made five-straight field goals heading into the under-16-minute media timeout. Akins and Walker both made 3-pointers as MSU took a 58-52 lead.

Freshman center Carson Cooper checked into the game for the first time after his low ankle sprain at the 12:20 mark of the second half after Sissoko picked up his third foul.

Leading into the next media timeout, Iowa made three-straight field goals and MSU made seven of its last eight field goals. Both teams were scoring at ease.

Walker continued shooting well as he made a jumper from the corner with a defender in his face as the shot clock winded down.

Walker hit a 3-pointer to silence a raucous Hakweye crowd after Iowa sophomore guard Payton Sandfort drilled a deep 3-pointer almost from the midcourt logo. That basket by Walker gave him 20 points for the game at that point. MSU was 10-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc at the under-eight-minute media timeout, a blazing 83.3%. The Spartans had the lead 71-66.

The Spartans never cooled down shooting. Hauser nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and Walker won a one-on-one battle as the shot clock was ticking down to extend MSU’s lead to 82-72 with 3:48 to play.

MSU hit its new season-high for scoring as senior forward Malik Hall hit a pair of free throws to give the Spartans 91 points with 1:34 remaining in regulation. The Spartans did a much better job of protecting the basketball in the second half. They had nine turnovers in the first half and had just five in the second half.

Iowa was down as much as 13 points with 1:34 left to play in the second half (91-78). With a combination of fouling and red-hot shooting from beyond the arc, Iowa made its way back into the game. It got down to one possession after redshirt junior forward Patrick McCaffery nailed a 3-pointer. Junior guard A.J. Hoggard hit both ensuing free throws, but graduate senior Connor McCaffery drained another 3-pointer in traffic to make it a 100-98 game.

Hoggard hit the front end of a pair of free throws, but missed the second. Iowa marched down the court and Sandfort hit a 3-pointer with three seconds to go. Hoggard missed a buzzer beater from half court and the game was sent into overtime, against all odds, at 101-101.

Iowa made six 3-pointers in the final 1:30 of regulation, including four in the final 32 seconds.

Iowa retook the lead in overtime with a pair of free throws from Murray, but Akins responded with a jumper to tie the game at 103.

MSU cooled off in overtime. The Spartans started 1-for-4 shooting. Akins forced a pass to Walker, which was stolen away, and Iowa converted on a put-back by junior guard Tony Perkins to make the score 108-103 in favor of the Hawkeyes.

Perkins had another put-back basket with under one minute to play to make it a two-possession game. Perkins hit two free throws to ice the game. Iowa dribbled out the clock to seal the come from behind victory.

The Spartans, despite being up 91-78, collapsed in Iowa City and lost 112-106 in overtime. Walker led all scorers with a season-high31 points. Akins followed him up with a career-high 21 points. MSU shot 59% from the field and 73% from 3-point land, both of which were season-highs. MSU also shot 86% from the charity stripe. The Spartans were out-rebounded by Iowa 34-30.

MSU falls to 17-11 and 9-8 in Big Ten play. Iowa improves to 18-11 and 10-8 in the Big Ten. The Spartans are now tied for eighth in the Big Ten standings with Rutgers.

Michigan State’s next game will be on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Nebraska. That game will tip off at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and will air on Big Ten Network.

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