| Detroit Free Press
EAST LANSING – Michigan State Basketball did what no other team has been able to do this season: contain Luka Garza of Iowa.
But it was another dubious debut in a long season for the Spartans: Tom Izzo’s worst home loss in 26 seasons.
One by one, the Hawkeyes buried 3 points after 3 and neutralized the Spartans in the first 10 minutes of the No. 16 victory in Iowa by 88-58 on Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
It was another ugly loss for MSU (10-8, 4-8 Big Ten), his third for another 25 or more points and fifth for two digits. Izzo’s worst defeat at home was on January 4, 1997 to Minnesota.
The Spartans also had their two-game winning streak broken out as they prepared to travel to No. 25 Purdue on Tuesday (19h, ESPN). Gabe Brown scored 15, Aaron Henry 13 and Joshua Langford 11 for MSU, who scored just 35.5% in total and made only 6 of 21 attempts from 3 points.
To make matters worse, Rocket Watts did not return from the locker room after the break. A team spokesman said he did not return “for health and safety precautions” after scoring just three points in 1 of 5 shots in 10 minutes of the first half, while MSU was down 46-27 in the break.
Initial dam
Izzo has pledged in recent days to alternate several defenders “and the kitchen sink” to defend Garza, the country’s top scorer who entered Saturday with 25.3 points and scored 27 in Iowa’s 84-78 victory at home over the MSU in February 2 nd.
The Spartans this time sent double and triple teams to the 1.80 m senior center. This strategy worked for Garza, who finished with the lowest mark of the season with eight points from 3 of 11 shots and caught eight rebounds, but failed overall.
After Garza’s three-point game stopped MSU’s 4-0 start, the Hawkeyes made the most of the space on the perimeter to bury the Spartans quickly from the 3-point gap. Keegan Murray, Jordan Bohannon and Connor McCaffery hit back from the bottom to give Iowa the lead forever. Then Joe Wieskamp hit a pair when the Hawkeyes’ hit increased his lead to 13 points and forced Izzo to time out.
The Hawkeyes made 8 of their first 11 and ended with 13 for the game, shooting 49.2% overall and 52% in the 3-point range. They had five players – none of them Garza – hitting 3 points, led by five from Wieskamp among their 21 points on 7 out of 13 shots.
Jack Nunge added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Hawkeyes (14-6, 8-5), while McCaffery hit four points out of 3 and scored 16.
Powerful fights
Henry’s aggressiveness and Langford’s firmness were the only sign of life. Brown scored 10 of his 15 in the second half, when the game was decided.
Watts was not a factor in his limited time. Joey Hauser continued to struggle with problems and missed shots, scoring nine points out of 4 out of 12 attempts with seven rebounds. The rest of MSU’s post-players – Malik Hall, Marcus Bingham Jr., Thomas Kithier, Julius Marble and Mady Sissoko – combined for six points and 13 rebounds.
MSU was overcome, 46-37.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more about the Spartans of the state of Michigan and subscribe to our Spartan newsletter.