Michigan State basketball: Three Takeaways in Big Ten Opening Blowout vs. Iowa

On Tuesday, Michigan State basketball began their early conference play, hosting Iowa for the opening Big Ten game. The Spartans, after getting “punched in the mouth” early, took down Iowa 71-52 in convincing fashion.

What can be taken away from the Spartan victory today?

• The Izzone Made A Difference

This game started out slow, with Iowa and Michigan State exchanging body blows. The Spartans took a lead, but it appeared that there would be a punch-counter punch rhythm. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, MSU had an ace up their sleeve: the introduction of football coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald amplified the crowd, driving them wild, leading to coach Tom Izzo to quip “I told his wife to shut him up, my players could not hear me in the huddle.”

That made the difference, with an engaged Izzone making life miserable on an Iowa offense full of players new to Big Ten and Michigan State physicality. The Spartans took full advantage.

• Michigan State basketball outmatched Iowa

The Spartans played pure bully ball on the glass today. Michigan State basketball outrebounded Iowa 37-18, doubling them up. Jaxon Kohler opened Big Ten play with a double-double, while Coen Carr, Carson Cooper, and Jordan Scott all added five of their own rebounds.

All of this came without emerging freshman star Cam Ward. Ward missed the game with a wrist sprain. That Ward-filled hole left room for redshirt freshman Jesse McCulloch to emerge, and he had a nine-point outing.

It was barely a test for the Spartans, and Kohler revealed his goal this Big Ten slate is to average a double-double. So far, so good for the senior.

With a dominating win like this, the question becomes, how high is the ceiling for Michigan State basketball? Pretty high, if you ask me. Tom Izzo said that he doesn’t think the team is near it yet, which is terrifying for the Big Ten.

• Frustrating defense for Iowa to counter

The Spartans completely shut down Iowa’s offense. While they were on the slower-paced scale, head coach Ben McCollum revealed that the Hawkeyes intended to move the ball faster, but they could not. McCollum seemed stumped, bemoaning the offensive struggles multiple times before even crediting the Spartan defense for shutting down Iowa.

Here, I will credit the Spartans. There was never much room to breath for Iowa, even with the referees calling fouls at every bump. The Spartans adjusted their physicality, and were just as punishing. It was a miserable day to be a Hawkeye.

Look no further than Bennett Stirtz’s stat line. Stirtz went 40% from the field, 50% from the charity stripe, with four turnovers. He had 14 points on 10 shots from the field, and six shots from the stripe. It was an awful day from Stirtz, compounded with the Izzone “airball” chants flying his way.

Leading rebounder Alvaro Folgueiras, who got nearly five boards per game heading into the contest, only had a single rebound in 18 minutes of action. There was no room to breathe for the Hawkeyes, and that was with a team down one of their best scorers. The Big Ten should be on notice.

What is next for Michigan State basketball?

The Spartans have their final premier out of conference matchup, hosting the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. The game will tip at noon EST. Duke survived a scare from Florida in the ACC-SEC challenge on Tuesday night, winning 67-66.