10th ranked Michigan State defeated 18th ranked Iowa 90-68 Monday night in East Lansing. The Spartans dominated the majority of the way, and went into the locker room with a 43-33 lead. Nick Ward was the leading scorer for the Spartans, going a perfect 10-10 from the field and finishing with 26 points.
The Spartans held Iowa to 32% from the field, while shooting 51%. Cassius Winston didn’t have to do the scoring tonight, as he dished out 12 assists and only had 1 turnover. Kenny Goins also had a phenomenal showing tonight, scoring 19 points and adding 14 rebounds.
Michigan State improves to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. The Spartans will now head to Gainesville Saturday to take on an under performing Florida squad (12 PM CBS). The Gators currently sit at 4-3, but will have two chances for resume building wins this week when they face West Virginia Tuesday in New York and Michigan State on Saturday.
Iowa falls to 6-2 and 0-2 in the Big Ten. After an impressive showing in the 2K Classic, the Hawkeyes have lost 2 of their last 4 and barely squeaked by Pittsburgh at home in the Big Ten/ ACC Challenge. Fran McCaffery’s team is still young and developing, but things do not get easier as the Hawkeyes will return home on Thursday to face Iowa State in the Cy-Hawk series.