EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Michigan State, 78-71, on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. The Hawkeyes move to 16-11 on the season and 8-8 in Big Ten conference play.
Graduate Ben Krikke secured his third double-double of the season. Krikke scored 18 points shooting 7-of-11 (64%) from the field. Krikke set a season high in rebounds with 14. He was just one rebound shy of tying his career high.
Junior Payton Sandfort led all scorers with 22 points, his seventh time this season finishing with 20+ points. Sandfort knocked down two threes and pulled in six rebounds.
Senior Patrick McCaffery rounded out the Hawkeyes in double-digits with 14 points. McCaffery grabbed four rebounds while shooting 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the first half that featured nine ties and four lead changes the Hawkeyes jumped on the Spartans. A 15-1 Iowa run with just over six minutes remaining in the half started with the Hawkeyes down three and ended with them leading the Spartans by 11. Iowa shot 16-of-28 (57%) from the field in the first half with three players in double-digits. Iowa handed Michigan State their largest halftime deficit at home this season, leading the Spartans, 45-33, at the break.
Iowa carried that momentum into the second half and extended their lead to 16 points in the first minute of the second half. The Spartans refused to go away, but the Hawkeyes had a response for every Michigan State run. Michigan State was able to cut the lead to five points with 2:30 remaining but Iowa would score the next five points to push their lead back to ten points. Krikke, Perkins and Sandfort combined to score 25 of the team’s 33 points in the second half.
Iowa finished the game shooting 28-of-55 (50.9%) from the field and 4-of-13 (30.8%) from deep. The Hawkeyes shot 18-of-23 from the free throw line (78.3%).
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“[Ben] was huge. He’s a terrific player. He’s a big-time scorer. I’ve been challenging him to rebound better. He gets 14. So, I’m really proud of him. He did a good job Saturday also against Wisconsin. So that makes a big difference in our team when he’s rebounding like that. Like you said, especially with Owen on the bench.”
“I thought we were moving the ball well. We got really good shots. Typically, our teams move and share the ball pretty well. It’s not always easy against Michigan State. The way they defend, their physical, their quick, their tough. So, you have to screen, you have to cut, and you have to work harder. You’ve got to work harder and not turn it over. Cause they are pretty good at turning you over. So really proud of the guys in that stretch that we played.”
“I think a great deal [of confidence]. Because of the respect we have for the two programs you just mentioned [Wisconsin and Michigan State]. Not a lot of teams come in here and win. Not a lot of teams beat those teams either place. So, the fact that we were able to fight through an overtime victory against Wisconsin who was ranked. Then another quad one win for us here on the road. Obviously on the road it’s always going to be harder, and I think in many ways more indicative of your team’s ability to compete. But now we got to do it again. We have to go on the road at Illinois. One of the best teams in the country.”
GAME NOTABLES
- The victory is Iowa’s second straight Quad 1 victory and the third true road win of the season.
- The Hawkeyes have won two of the last three road games at Michigan State and have won five of the last six in the series overall.
- Iowa snapped Michigan State’s nine-game home winning streak. It was the Spartans’ third home loss this season (14-3).
- The win is Iowa’s eighth Big Ten victory of the year, moving the team’s record to 8-8.
- The Hawkeyes are .500 in the conference for the first time since Jan. 15.
- The Hawkeyes led by as many as 16 (51-35) in the second half.
- Iowa trailed 27-24 at the 6:34 mark of the first half before going on 15-1 run over a 3:36 span to build a 39-28 lead.
- Junior Payton Sandfort hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in half, giving Iowa a 45-33 advantage at the break.
- Graduate Ben Krikke recorded his third double-double, finishing with 18 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. He was 7-of-11 from the floor.
- He had 11 points and nine rebounds in the first half, playing all 20 minutes.
- Junior Payton Sandfort finished with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go along with six boards.
- It is his seventh 20 point game and his 21st game in double figures this season.
- He made two 3-pointers for the 22nd game.
- Senior Patrick McCaffery scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and went 4-of-5 from the free throw stripe.
- He has been in double digits in four of the last six games and 13 times this season.
- McCaffery is nine points shy of becoming the 53rd 1,000-point scorer in program history.
- The Hawkeyes shot 50.9 percent from the field and went 18-of-23 from the free throw line.
- Iowa shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the first half and committed only two turnovers.
- The Hawkeyes made more free throws (18) than Michigan State attempted (14).
- Iowa is 12-2 when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
- The Hawkeyes won the rebounding battle, 35-34.
- Iowa committed just six turnovers – its 16th game with 10 or fewer turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes continue on the road, traveling to Champaign on Saturday to face No. 12 Illinois at 1:15 p.m. (CT) at the State Farm Center.
