With a potential NCAA Tournament bid on the line, many expected Fran McCaffery and No. 6 seed Iowa to come out swinging in a second-round matchup against the No. 8 seed MSU men’s basketball team. And after one half of play, the Hawkeyes look like a team who wants to go dancing.
Heading into the locker rooms after a sloppy half of play, the Spartans (24-7 overall, 13-5 Big Ten) trail Iowa, 30-20.
After more than three scoreless minutes, including three turnovers, junior guard Keith Appling broke the cold spell with a jumper to get the Spartans on the board.
However, beginning with an opening 3-pointer by guard Roy Devyn Marble, the Hawkeyes started the first half on 9-2 run, thoroughly stifling the Spartans’ offense in the process.
Junior center Adreian Payne fought to bring the Spartans back in the game, scoring the next seven points to pull the Spartans back in the contest.
Payne finished the first half as MSU’s leading scorer with nine points to go along with six rebounds to keep the Spartans’ offense afloat.
Iowa guard and Lansing native Anthony Clemmons hit a jumper at 2:20 to push the Iowa lead to 10, where it stayed heading into halftime.
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