From there, however, it was nearly all Iowa. All night long, the Hawkeyes, led by 23 points from junior guard Peter Jok, simply appeared to have wanted it more.

The Hawkeyes got to nearly every loose ball, grabbed almost every 50/50 rebound and when things were all said and done, No. 16 Iowa (13-3, 4-0) had demolished No. 4 MSU (16-2, 3-2) for the second time this season, this time beating the Spartans in their own house, 76-59.

"I wish I had some magical words," MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said. "There is a lot of blame I am going to give us tomorrow, but right now I give a lot of credit to Iowa. The did everything they could do. ... But the tougher team won and that is usually what happens."

It was the first half where the Hawkeyes jumped on the Spartans early. Aided by 14 MSU turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game, Iowa was also able to start 7-of-9 from behind the three-point arc. The Hawkeyes took a 47-25 lead into the half, and the Spartans could never recover.

"It was difficult," senior MSU guard Bryn Forbes said. "They gave us another great shot and they came out swinging early and we just didn't respond well at all."

Forbes got in foul trouble early and struggled all night long, finishing the night with just two points on 0-of-5 shooting. Forbes acknowledged the quick start Iowa got off to was a big part of how the Hawkeyes were able to take the game, but there were also a lot of Iowa hustle plays which contributed to MSU's demise.

"I mean, when they're on like that, it's tough," Forbes said. "But also when they're five offensive rebounds in a possession, you're not going to win a game like that."

And at the end of the day, Izzo and players both agreed, it was the toughness of Iowa which ultimately decided Thursday night's contest.

"I told (Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery) after the game, I thought for years that he's tough, but I didn't think his teams were as tough, personally," Izzo said. "I just think they played harder. They made shots, but they got every loose ball. ... The most aggressive team gets things, and they did. I mean, I can't hide behind it. It hurts me to admit it, but they did it twice."

Senior MSU forward Matt Costello, who was perhaps one of MSU's lone bright spots against Iowa, having finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds, when asked after the game what the difference was, the first few words out of his mouth were "tough plays."

"They played great," Costello said. "They played another good game. I mean this is the Big Ten championship game right now and we lost it. They were ready and we weren't so we've got to get ready for Wisconsin come Sunday."

As for Valentine, who was in his second game back from a knee injury he suffered a few days before Christmas, he too recognized how MSU didn't have it against the Hawkeyes, but said he hopes to learn from the experience.

"We didn't bring the toughness and leadership that we should have," Valentine said. "I kind of take the blame for everything and how we played tonight but I'm trying to make it a learning lesson so it doesn't happen again."