“He’s been like a father figure to me,” junior forward Marquise Gray said of Izzo. “Guys before me have taken him places and now we have the chance to be a part of this with him … it’s really special.”

Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan led the No. 19 Spartans (22-5 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) with 16 points and senior guard Drew Neitzel had 12 points and five assists. Forward Cyrus Tate paced the Hawkeyes (12-16, 5-10) with half of the Iowa scoring total, a game-high 26 points.

After backbreaking consecutive conference losses last week to Indiana and Purdue, the Spartans were considered to be virtually lifeless and out of the conference race.

But with two consecutive home victories, the Spartans look like the team everyone anticipated at the beginning of this season. A Big Ten title is nearly out of reach, but the team is playing with more vindication and the killer instinct Izzo has been looking for.

“We had to come out strong to show that last game wasn’t a fluke,” Gray said in reference to the team’s 86-49 win against Penn State on Wednesday. “We can play with that intensity.”

The Spartans came out of the gates showing the most emotion seen all season — high-fiving, fist-pumping and chest-bumping at every turn. The result was a 20-1 start the Hawkeyes could never recover from.

“I was afraid we weren’t going to get to double digits by halftime,” Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter said. “It’s a tough team to spot 19. There’s a reason why they’re rated where they’re at and are as good as they are.”

While the Spartans dominated the first 10 minutes of the game (Iowa made its first field goal at 9:38 in the first half), the second half was more of a seesaw affair, with both teams trading baskets through most of the final 20 minutes.

The MSU bench continued its contributing effort this season, totaling 20 points to Iowa’s two. The Spartans also outscored the Hawkeyes in points off turnovers, 13-2. MSU finished with a season-low five turnovers, the second straight game with fewer than 10 turnovers.

“We’ve got to keep it simple and avoid the home runs and just go for singles,” junior guard Travis Walton said. “If you go for singles, the home runs will come. We’ve just got to avoid those unforced turnovers.”

The Spartans now face a steep uphill battle in their last waning breath for a conference championship, beginning with a trip to Wisconsin (23-4, 13-2) for a 9 p.m. tipoff Thursday.