Michigan State ran through the non-conference portion of its schedule without much trouble, entering Big Ten play No. 1 in the polls and as the only 13-0 team in the country. That all changed on Tuesday night with the start of conference play. Iowa turned in a dominant performance from wire to wire to stun the Spartans 83-70.
Iowa shocks No. 1 Michigan State, 83-70
Down goes No. 1. The Hawkeyes earned a huge win to open up Big Ten play.
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Four Iowa players reached double figures in scoring, led by senior Mike Gesell. Gesell put in a season-high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting and also added three assists and two steals.
Jarrod Uthoff was also excellent for the Hawkeyes, putting in 10 points, five rebounds and setting a career-high with six blocks. His inside-outside offensive game and length at both ends was major trouble for the Spartans throughout the night:
Peter Jok also added 19 points, four assists and three steals for Iowa in the win.
Michigan State, of course, is still without national player of the year candidate Denzel Valentine, as he recovers from a knee injury. Eron Harris led the way for the Spartans in the loss with 21 points. Bryn Forbes struggled throughout the night for MSU, ending with only three points on 1-of-5 shooting.
There are now only four undefeated teams left in college basketball: Oklahoma, SMU, Xavier and South Carolina.
Iowa improves to 10-3 with the win.
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