Spartan Spanking

Feb. 2, 2011

Box Score

By RICHIE ZAWISTOWSKI

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo called Wednesday’s 72-52 loss at Iowa the worst performance by his Spartans in his tenure at Michigan State.

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team (9-13, 2-8) spanked the visiting Spartans (13-9, 5-5) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, handing Michigan State its worst loss of the season and holding it to its lowest scoring output of the year.

Junior Matt Gatens scored his 1,000th career point as a Hawkeye, finishing with a game-high 19 points, and senior Jarryd Cole was one rebound shy of a double-double, posting 13 points and nine rebounds. Junior Bryce Cartwright registered a career-high in assists for the second straight game, handing out 10 to go along with 12 points.

“What he’s doing is he’s becoming a terrific point guard,” said UI head coach Fran McCaffery. “He always was a scorer and he could play point and get the ball in the lane. But there’s a lot more to being a point guard, especially at this level, and I’m really proud of him and how hard he’s worked.”

The Hawkeyes returned to Iowa City after playing four of their last five opponents on the road. The home crowd fought off blizzard conditions outside, en route to watching Iowa post the 20-point win.

“I want to give a big thank you to our fans that braved the elements to come out tonight and really impact this game in a big way,” said McCaffery. “I think it makes a big, big difference to our players to know that they have that kind of support, and it definitely impacted our ability to play the kind of defensive game we did tonight.”

While there may have been freezing temperatures and nearly two feet of snow outside, the Hawkeyes were scorching hot inside. Iowa shot 58 percent from the field (30-52), while holding Michigan State to 34 percent shooting in the contest.

“This is our most complete game without question at both ends,” said McCaffery.

Iowa started the game on a 15-2 run thanks to an efficient offense, and dominating defense. The Hawkeyes made 12-of-their- first-15 shots, and the defense forced Michigan State into 1-of-11 shooting.

At one point in the first half Iowa had connected on a blistering 17-of-21 attempt before coming back to earth by finishing the half with a 65 percent (19-29) shooting clip. Iowa limited the Spartans to an ice-cold 24 percent (7-29) and 0-9 from long range.

Iowa’s first half lead stretched to as many as 22 points thanks to a highlight-filled run.

One highlight came when Michigan State sent a double team to the top of the key towards Cartwright. The guard split the double team, knifed into the lane and kicked out to Roy Devyn Marble. Marble missed his first shot, but thanks to the defense collapsing on Cartwright, got his own rebound and put it in giving Iowa the 28-8 lead with 8:03 remaining.

Next, the Iowa defense forced Kalin Lucas into a heavily contested shot, and the miss led the Hawkeyes out on the break. Cartwright dished to streaking Andrew Brommer, who finished with the layup to give the Hawkeyes the 30-8 advantage with 7:41 left in the half.

The stout defense continued as Devon Archie sent Michigan State packing at the rim with a vicious block, bringing the crowd to its feet. Gatens drilled a jumper at the top of the key on the other end to make the score 36-14 with 4:46 left in the half.

The first half ended with a bang for Iowa, as Cartwright found Zach McCabe in the corner for a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Iowa into the locker room with a 41-20 advantage.

The Iowa defense continued to lock down in the second half, as Michigan State scored two baskets in the first five minutes.

The Hawkeye lead grew to as many as 26 points — the biggest of the game — after Matt Gatens threw down a fast break dunk making the score 56-30 with 13:05 remaining.

Iowa returns to action on Saturday afternoon at Indiana beginning at 3:05 p.m.