3&OUT: Michigan State lays an egg at home in loss to Iowa

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State had an opportunity to get one step closer to securing a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament with a home win over Iowa on Tuesday night. The Hawkeyes had something else in mind, making a statement on the road with a 78-71 win over Michigan State, which failed to match Iowa’s energy.

Iowa came away with a rare Quad 1 road victory. Michigan State came away with more questions than answers.

“We haven’t had a game all year where we didn’t bring it,” Tom Izzo said. “We didn’t handle it very well. We have do better as a staff, and we will … You cannot play bad in this league and win a game.”

Continue below for a basketball 3&OUT.

1. This was a must-win game for Iowa, and it showed

I’m not suggesting that the Spartans took Iowa lightly, because they didn’t. But the Hawkeyes needed this win to put itself on the radar of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Hawkeyes played with the sense of urgency it takes to win a game between evenly matched teams on the road. Iowa was more physical than Michigan State when it mattered. Iowa got more 50/50 balls in this game than the Spartans. Iowa got more tough rebounds when it needed to. Iowa made more winning plays than Michigan State did. The Hawkeyes deserved to win this game.

“They played harder and better than we did,” Izzo said. “It looked like we were in quicksand … It was all energy. We didn’t guard. Disappointing to lose a game like that at home, but we didn’t deserve to win it.”

2. Michigan State missed too many high-percentage looks

Iowa is a team that scores the ball efficiently. To beat the Hawkeyes, Michigan State needed to convert high-percentage looks. The Spartans missed too many lay-ups in this game. Iowa didn’t. The Hawkeyes had 16 lay-ups and two dunks in this game. Michigan State had some easy looks too. The Spartans did a poor job of converting several of those looks.

In the first half, AJ Hoggard got to the basket but failed to convert at the rim. Tyson Walker also managed to get downhill without converting as efficiently in this game as he has against other Big Ten opponents. In a handful of instances, Walker turned down perimeter looks in favor of drives to the basket. Jaden Akins simply missed open shots. Not converting at the rim, and missing open shots is a recipe for disaster against Iowa.

In the second half, Michigan State had better looks at the rim, and converted more those shots into buckets. There were still, however, too many empty possessions on plays that should have resulted in points.

Iowa isn’t a great defensive team. In this game, however, the Hawkeyes helped themselves out by hustling back on defense and not getting picked apart by the break. The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in fast-break points, and Michigan State did a good job of taking away Iowa’s transition offense for the most part. The Spartans did not, however, get enough out of their own fastbreak to overcome missed shots in halfcourt sets.

“We missed five lay-ups and went 7-for-14 from the line,” Izzo said. “You can’t do that against that team.”

3. Hoggard is the barometer for Michigan State

When Hoggard struggles, so does Michigan State. The senior point guard had a sluggish start to this game, which is one of the reasons why the Spartans trailed at home by double digits for the first time this season at halftime since trailing by 11 to Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener in early December.

Michigan State opened the second half with a different version of Hoggard. The second-half Hoggard attacked off the dribble with his shoulders square and finished at the rim. He also made better decisions in his role as a facilitator.

Hoggard was better for Michigan State in the second half, but the Spartans dug themselves too big of a hole in the first half to overcome a deficit which fluctuated between 8 and 12 points for most of the second half. The Spartans simply never managed to get the type of run that they needed to complete the come back on their home floor.

Izzo has talked a lot about consistency the last couple of weeks. To get the type of consistency Michigan State needs to be the best version of itself, the Spartans have to get consistently good minutes from their quarterback.

Hoggard has played good basketball leading up to this setback. He was good for one half tonight. He needs to be better than 20 minutes of good.

“In the second half, AJ raised his play for a few minutes,” Izzo said. “You don’t get to do that against good teams.”

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