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2/25 Big Ten Recap: MSU Tops Iowa

Recap all the Big Ten action from Tuesday night.

NCAA Basketball: Iowa at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

The Big Ten only had one game on Tuesday night, but it was a significant one in East Lansing between ranked Iowa and Michigan State teams. And while the Hawkeyes led for much of the game, Michigan State ended up grabbing the win.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-No. 24 Michigan State Spartans 78, No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes 70

Anytime two ranked teams match up, it’s also going to be an intriguing game. But this one had a little extra sizzle. Iowa was coming off two impressive wins over Minnesota and Ohio State, while the Spartans had a rough few weeks. This seemed like a big opportunity for Iowa to go on the road and pull off a huge win.

And early on, it looked like that might be the case. Iowa played really well in the first half, relying on Connor McCaffery and Luka Garza. However, the team’s defense faded and Cassius Winston was able to emerge for the Spartans. All told, Michigan State ended up scoring a 78-70 win.

For Michigan State, this is a really significant win. The team had lost four of its last six games and seemed to be drifting from the Big Ten title conversation. However, with this win in the bag, the team is right back in the thick of things. The Spartans will now prepare for a huge rematch with Maryland on the road on Saturday.

On the other side, Iowa dropped to 19-9 overall with the loss and has now lost four of its last five away from home. The Big Ten title is out the window at this point, but Iowa can still regroup and get a decent seed in both postseason tournaments. The team’s efforts in that regard will begin on Saturday at home against Penn State.