EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Joe Wieskamp scored 21 points to lead Iowa’s balanced offense in an 88-58 win over Michigan State on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) had three players score in double figures and Luka Garza wasn’t one of them. Garza had a season-low eight points on 3 of 11 from the field, but his teammates more than made up for the star senior being held well below his 20-point average.
Jack Nunge matched a career high with 18 points and Connor McCaffery had 16 points, making 4 of 6 3-pointers. Wieskamp made 5 of 7 3-pointers, helping his team connect on 13 of 25 shots beyond the arc.
The staggering Spartans(10-8, 4-8) are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.
Michigan State’s Gabe Brown had 15 points, Aaron Henry scored 13 points and Joshua Langford added 11. Spartans guard Rocket Watts was held out of the second half for health and safety precautions, the school said, after he had three points on 1-for-5 shooting over 10 minutes.
Iowa led 46-26 at halftime after making 8 of 13 beyond the arc. The Spartans briefly put up a fight in the second half, pulling within 15 points before the Hawkeyes had their way at both ends of the court to win at the Breslin Center for the first time since 2016.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: Teams can take Garza away and still not beat the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-11 center scored at least 16 points in every other game this season. Garza had eight points at Michigan State, his lowest total since scoring nine on Nov. 29, 2019, against San Diego State. He was a sophomore the last time a Big Ten team held him to single digits.
Michigan State: Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo was in his second season the last time he didn’t coach in the NCAA Tournament, and the next time might be next month.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Hawkeyes should move up in the Top 25 after routing Michigan State on the road and beating No. 25 Rutgers by 13 points earlier in the week. They fell out of the top 10 this week for the first time this season after losing to then-No. 7 Ohio Stateand Indiana.
UP NEXT
Iowa: plays at No. 21 Wisconsin on Thursday night.
Michigan State: Ttavels to No. 24 Purdue on Tuesday night.
