The Iowa Hawkeyes beat Michigan State in East Lansing for the first time since 1993.
By Ian Murphy
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The last time the Iowa men’s basketball team won in East Lansing, Michigan, Hawk seniors Jarrod Uthoff, Adam Woodbury, Anthony Clemmons, and Mike Gesell hadn’t been born yet.
The Hawkeyes downed the Spartans, 76-59, on Jan. 14 for their first win in the Breslin Center since Jan. 28, 1993, 12 days after Hawkeye star Chris Street died in an automobile accident.
The win also marks the first time since then that Iowa has swept the season series against the Spartans. Iowa beat the Spartans in Carver-Hawkeye, 83-70, on Dec. 29, 2015, but the Spartans at that time were without their best player, Denzel Valentine, a high-school teammate of Clemmons.
“I think everyone who was in that locker room, who was in there, believed that we could win this game,” Clemmons said. “We knew what they were going to do, what they wanted to do.”
For a few fleeting moments, including his game-opening 3-pointer, it appeared as if Valentine was going to be the difference-maker and that the Spartans would tally their 19thth home win in a row against the Hawkeyes.
That was quickly eradicated as the Hawkeyes seemingly, and suddenly, could do no wrong. They quickly answered the Spartans with a barrage of 3-pointers. The Hawkeyes amassed a 22-point lead and led 47-25 at halftime despite Gesell sitting out almost 18 minutes of the half in foul trouble.
In short, the Hawkeyes dominated, with a lead that stretched as high as 23.
Junior Peter Jok led all scorers with 23 points, and Jarrod Uthoff — who was 3-of-10 from the floor in the first half — finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Clemmons, who injured his hip in a late-game collision against Purdue on Jan. 2, scored 13.
The Hawkeyes out-rebounded the Spartans 39-35 and seemed to snare every loose ball, contested rebounds (13 offensive boards), and went after any ball up for grabs.
Three-point shooting proved to be the biggest difference, as the Hawkeyes finished 10-of-22 (9-of-15 in the first half) from behind the arc to the Spartans’ 4-of-21.
It was especially key in the first half, when it seemed the Hawkeyes could not miss. Sophomore Dom Uhl had 10 points in the half, with two 3-pointers. Jok had three, and Uthoff and Clemmons each added two as Iowa poured it on.
The win marks Iowa’s sixth in a row, following a disastrous collapse on the road at Iowa State in which the Hawkeyes blew a 14-point halftime lead. In that game, the Hawks led by as many as 20 in the second half and still held an 8-point lead with 2:36 to go.
“I think we knew and understood what it was going to take to win here,” head coach Fran McCaffery said. “I think our defense and our attention to detail, based on personnel, was as good as it gets.”
Iowa’s victories have come in a myriad of ways, too, including a massive comeback against Purdue, a slugfest with Drake, and two blowouts of Michigan State.
The Hawkeyes improved to 13-3 on the season, 4-0 in the Big Ten, and will likely climb higher than No. 16 if they beat Michigan on Jan. 17 in Carver.
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