Don’t look now, but Iowa basketball is heating up. Heating right on up to the NCAA Tournament bubble perhaps.
Iowa got off to a strong start inside the Breslin Center and then used an 18-6 run to close the first half to build a 45-33 halftime lead. Redshirt senior forward Patrick McCaffery, graduate forward Ben Krikke and junior forward Payton Sandfort each helped set the tone with double-figure outputs in the game’s first 20 minutes.
Though Michigan State tightened things back to single digits on multiple occasions in the second half, Iowa always found another response. Sandfort led the way for Iowa with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
Krikke added 18 points and McCaffery finished with 14. As a team, Iowa shot 50.9% from the field. In one of the other keys to the victory, the Hawkeyes did a fantastic job valuing the basketball. Iowa finished with just six turnovers in the game.
Despite some nervy second-half moments, when it was all said and done, Iowa had secured a 78-71 road victory. It’s a Quad 1 win for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa (16-11, 8-8 Big Ten) evened its league record and will have its chance to jump above .500 on Saturday at Illinois. Naturally, Hawkeye fans were thrilled across social media with the big win over Sparty.