Sophomore forward Keegan Murray was the star of the show all night, pouring in 28 points on 67% shooting. His effort spearheaded an overwhelming offensive performance for the Hawkeyes, who had just three scorers in double digits to hang 80 points, the third-most points MSU has surrendered all season. Most of the damage was done from deep. Iowa hit 12 threes on 42.9% shooting compared to just eight threes on 30.8% shooting for MSU. 

The success of Iowa’s offense proved to be too much to handle for the Spartans, who struggled early with turnovers and rebounding again, allowing the deficit to build. MSU turned the ball over 11 times and surrendered 10 offensive rebounds, paving the way for the stomping.

Most of the mistakes came in the first half, allowing Iowa to build a 46-32 halftime lead. MSU tried to battle back early in the second half but wilted away fast, allowing Iowa to blow the game open to secure a 26-point victory.

Junior forward Malik Hall was a rare bright spot for the Spartans with 17 points, but his effort could not be matched by any teammates. Hall returned to action after injuring his wrist against Illinois on Saturday and was the aggressor all night.

Iowa jumped on Michigan State from the tipoff. The Hawkeyes made six of its first seven shots to storm out to a 14-4 lead just five minutes into the game. The Spartans were experiencing their familiar troubles out of the gate offensively and were unable to keep up with the Hawkeyes early. 

MSU broke off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to one possession, but Murray was ready with an answer. He broke the run with four consecutive field goals, including two threes, to push Iowa’s lead back to 22-13 halfway through the first half. Murray scored 14 of his 28 points in the opening 10 minutes to build the lead. 

The torrid shotmaking continued for the Hawkeyes, who quickly pushed the lead to 15 points minutes later. MSU tried its best to keep pace, shooting 41.2% from the field, but could not come close to matching Iowa’s 50% first-half shooting percentage and seven three-pointers.

The Spartans were able to whittle the lead down to 10 points with just over three minutes until halftime, but Iowa was not finished making shots. The Hawkeyes pushed the lead back to 46-32 going into the locker room led by Murray’s 18 first-half points.

MSU, again, was able to shrink the lead to 10 points at the start of the second half, but an untimely technical on Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo for arguing a non-call on a drive to the rim allowed Iowa to push the lead up to 16 points with 15 minutes left.

After the lead got back down to 11, redshirt senior Jordan Bohannon started getting in the action by connecting on two moonshots from deep three-point range to push the lead back to 61-44 with 13 minutes left. Iowa’s lead finally broke the 20-point threshold with 10 minutes left and floodgates began to open down the stretch. 

The loss drops Michigan State to 18-9 on the year and 9-7 in conference play. The Spartans will return home to East Lansing to prepare for a matchup with Big Ten-leading Purdue on Saturday.