Photo: Nick King ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
EAST LANSING ~ Michigan State opened Big Ten play with a convincing 71-52 win over Iowa on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center, improving to 8-0. The Spartans overcame an early punch from the Hawkeyes, who jumped out to a 5-0 lead, before MSU responded with a 13-0 run fueled by sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and senior forward Jaxon Kohler. From there, Tom Izzo’s team leaned on its trademark toughness and rebounding to seize control, taking a 35-21 lead into halftime and never looking back.
Izzo didn’t hide his pride in his team’s response after a physical start. “We got punched in the mouth early, and that hasn’t happened much this year yet,” Izzo told WJR’s correspondent Nic Fardella. “Maybe that was good for us. We bounced back, got a little tougher. We out-rebounded them by almost 20, and I thought we defended really, really well.”Michigan State finished with a 37-18 edge on the boards and outscored Iowa 34-18 in the paint.
SOCIAL MEDIA
(CONTINUED) Kohler was a force inside, posting his second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Izzo praised his big man’s impact: “For a guy who’s not the greatest athlete in the world, he gets a lot done. He’s got a nose for the ball. He’s obsessed with getting rebounds. Averaging a double-double in the Big Ten, That’s a hell of a feat.”Junior forward Coen Carr added 15 points and timely plays in the second half, while Fears Jr. chipped in 14 points and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, a stat Izzo emphasized: “We said free throws were going to be important. We got to the line and we converted.”
Defense was the backbone of the win, especially when MSU’s offense sputtered early. “Defense travels, defense is consistent,” Izzo said. “Jeremy was just at a different level tonight getting over ball screens and doing things. He should be becoming one of the best defenders in this league, and when he’s doing that, it energizes our whole team.” Izzo also noted that while depth and point guard play are trending upward, perimeter shooting remains a concern: “We still turned it over a little bit too much. Didn’t really shoot it that well from the three. We need more consistency at the two.”
The Spartans now turn their attention to a marquee matchup against No. 4 Duke on Saturday, a game that could further define their ceiling. For Michigan State, the formula remains clear: rebound, defend and run. As Izzo put it: “If you rebound, you run pretty good. That takes care of a lot of things.”
