Tag: michigan state vs iowa basketball

3 Key Takeaways: No. 24 Michigan State defeats No. 18 Iowa

Michigan State Basketball took down one of the best Big Ten teams in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Here are three key takeaways from this game.

Michigan State Basketball defeated arguably the best Big Ten team last night in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Cassius Winston led the Spartans to a 78-70 victory at the Breslin Center. In this same game, Xavier Tillman became MSU’s all-time leader in blocks.

Here are three key takeaways from this game:

1. Stop Sleeping On Cassius Winston

For some reason, I feel like Cassius Winston is underrated. There was so much hype on Luka Garza as the best Big Ten player. Some even put Garza onto the national stage as the best NCAA player this season. Cassius Winston’s performance last night obviously warrants a debate.

Luka Garza was locked down in the second half while Winston erupted for 19 second-half points. Cassius didn’t put up unimpressive 19 points either. Instead, he left Iowa defenders in his dust while driving to the basketball. At one point, Winston hit a fadeaway corner three-pointer. He took control of this game and made everything look so easy.

2. Xavier Tillman Sr. Is The Best Big Ten Defender

As mentioned earlier, Tillman became the all-time leader in blocks at Michigan State. He also completely locked up Luka Garza in the process. Tillman held Garza to only eight second-half points. Late in the game, Tillman had a critical block on Garza as well.

Let’s put this defensive performance against Garza into perspective. No other team has kept Garza to 20 points or less since Nebraska on January 1. Tillman deserves every single bit of praise available. Even Izzo spoke on Xavier being the best defender in the Big Ten.

3. Rocket Watts & Aaron Henry Provide Scoring Boost

Rocket Watts scored 21 points last night, matching his career-high total from the Illinois game a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, Aaron Henry put up a season-high of 17 points. Aaron Henry, Rocket Watts, Gabe Brown, & Kyle Ahrens are all incredibly important to a deep NCAA tournament. MSU needs two or more of these players contributing at least 15 points a game. Luckily, Watts & Henry stepped up to the plate against Iowa.

The Spartans are back in action again this upcoming Saturday at 8 P.M. on ESPN.

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Game Recap: Cassius Winston leads MSU basketball in comeback victory against Iowa 78-70

Michigan State Basketball beat Iowa at the Breslin Center, 78-70, in a wonderful comeback victory. Here is a quick game recap of this win.

Michigan State Basketball beat Iowa at home, 78-70. Michigan State put out a starting lineup of Cassius Winston, Rocket Watts, Aaron Henry, Marcus Bingham Jr., and Xavier Tillman. This was a physical matchup between two of the better Big Ten basketball teams. Rocket Watts and Cassius Winston led MSU in scoring with 21 and 20 points respectively.

Here is a recap of this game:

First Half

MSU started strong out of the gate with two defensive stops on Iowa Center Luka Garza. Both teams exchanged buckets in the first two minutes of this game. Rocket Watts hit a floater nearly three minutes into this game, tying up the score 7-7. Note, MSU turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes of this game. Meanwhile, Luka Garza was 0/4 from the floor.

Xavier Tillman picked up his second foul five minutes into the game, not good. Malik Hall scored on back-to-back possessions, keeping the score close. MSU moved the ball around well, finding Aaron Henry wide open for three. Iowa answered back with a bucket of their own. The Hawkeyes led the Spartans 18-14 halfway through the first half.

Michigan State played excellent defense for the next two minutes. Then, Winston found Kithier on an alley-oop layup. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead with 6:30 left in the first half. Michigan State then missed its next five shots. Meanwhile, Iowa pushed its lead to 31-25.

Iowa closed out the half with a lead of 33-27.

Second Half

Michigan State used its starting lineup at the beginning of the second half. This resulted in an immediate Cassius Winston three-pointer. Iowa extended the lead to seven points the largest lead of the game. Then, Ryan Kriener hit a three-pointer and Iowa led by 10.

The Spartans struggled against Luka Garza as do most teams. Rocket Watts hit a clutch three then Xavier Tillman netted a free throw. Cassius Winston then scored on a ridiculous, fade away corner three. This cut the deficit to only two points. Luka Garza was fouled down low and converted the and-one opportunity. MSU down 46-41 with 15 minutes left in the game.

Rocket Watts turned the ball over and left a three-point shooter wide open for three. Iowa now leading by eight points. Cassius Winston scored on three consecutive plays, including two three-pointers and a layup. A few plays later, Henry hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game, 51-51.

Winston found Tillman down low for an easy bucket. Thus, MSU enjoyed its first lead of the game since the close of the first half. Both teams traded buckets back and forth for the next five minutes. Aaron Henry hit two free throws with four minutes remaining to push MSU ahead 63-61.

Rocket Watts hit another clutch three-pointer but Iowa answered back. Henry scored down near the rim, putting MSU ahead 68-64. Then, Xavier Tillman stole the ball on a critical play. Rocket Watts scored on a fast break play. Xavier Tillman continued his stellar defense on Garza with another critical stop.

Cassius Winston hit both free throws. MSU now ahead 72-64 with one minute remaining in the game.

The Spartans closed out this game with more free throws, enjoying a 78-70 comeback victory at the Breslin Center.

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