Five in Double Figures as No. 8 Michigan State Beats Iowa, 91-84, to Clinch Outright Big Ten Regular Season Title

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 8 Michigan State scored 61 points in the second half en route to a 91-84 win over Iowa on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The win clinches the Big Ten regular season title outright for the Spartans. It is the 11th Big Ten regular season title for Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo, tied for the most in Big Ten Conference history.

Richardson scored 22 points and grabbed four rebounds with two assists to lead MSU, while senior guard Jaden Akins scored 15 points and handed out four assists, junior forward Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 14 points and three assists and junior guard Tre Holloman added 11 points and four assists.

Records
Michigan State improves to 25-5 overall and 16-3 in the Big Ten Conference, while Iowa falls to 15-15 overall and 6-13 in league play.

Recap

Michigan State trailed by seven points (37-30) at half and fell behind by 11, 45-34, early in the second half before making a run.
Down 47-37 after a jumper from Iowa's Payton Sandfort, junior guard Tre Holloman hit a 3-pointer to start a 9-4 run as the Spartans pulled to within 51-46 on a conventional three-point play from Richardson (13:28).
The Hawkeyes again pushed the lead back to 10 points, 58-48, following free throws from Sandfort with 12:13 left, but the Spartans went on an 11-0 run and took a 59-58 lead after back-to-back alley-oop dunks from sophomore forward Coen Carr, the latter with 9:52 left.
Iowa briefly took a 60-59 lead when a driving layup from Carr gave MSU the lead for good with 9:09, triggering a 22-4 run over 5:11 as the Spartans took an 81-64 lead on a Holloman 3-pointer with 3:54 to play in the game.
The MSU lead shrank to six points in the final minute but Fears hit a pair of free throws and Cooper hit 2-of-4 from the line to close out the scoring for the Spartans.
The Spartans went into the half trailing by seven points, 37-30, as Iowa used a big run midway through the break to take a 14-point lead.
MSU had jumped out to an early lead, hitting four of its first seven shots and free throws from junior forward Jaxon Kohler giving the visitors an 11-4 lead.
A 3-pointer from Sandfort triggered a 22-2 run over 6:11 as the Hawkeyes took a 27-13 lead on a driving layup from Seydou Traore with 9:06 left, forcing MSU to call a timeout.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Richardson and junior guard Tre Holloman got MSU to within 27-19 with 8:09 left.
A driving layup from senior guard Jaden Akins pulled MSU to within 37-30 with 35 seconds left and the Spartans had a chance to cut into the lead but a shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

Key Stats

After scoring 30 points in the first half, the Spartans exploded for 61 points in the second half.
Michigan State shot 40.0 percent in the first half (12-of-30), but hit 61.3 percent in the second half (19-of-31), including 45.5 percent from 3-point land (5-of-11).
The Spartans had a 36-35 advantage in rebounding, including a 19-17 edge in the second half, during which they had seven offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points.
MSU committed eight turnovers (just two in the second half) and forced 10 by Iowa, and had a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Iowa, 78-60.
- The Spartans ended a two-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes.
- MSU is 27-38 all-time in games played at Iowa and snapped a three-game road losing streak.
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo is 36-16 all-time against Iowa.
Izzo's career record is now 732-300.
Izzo is now 359-173 all-time in the Big Ten, extending his lead among Big Ten coaches all-time for conference wins.
Michigan State has won 11 Big Ten Regular Season titles under Izzo, tied for the most in Big Ten Conference history.
The team's 25 regular season wins are the most sine the 2018-19 team closed the year with 25 before making a run to the Final Four.
MSU's 16 Big Ten wins are the most since the 2018-19 team won 16 games.
Michigan State is now 9-2 on the road, including an 8-2 mark in the Big Ten.
- The 8 conference road wins are the most since the 2018-19 team won 8 away from home.
The Spartans are now 6-5 when trailing at the half, with those six wins coming in the last eight games.
Michigan State scored a season-high 61 points in the second half.
- It was the most in a half since scoring 65 in the second half of a 109-91 win over Oakland during the 2020-21 season.
Michigan State connected on 50.8 percent of its field goals (31-of-61), the 11th time shooting above 50 percent (11-0 in those games).
Michigan State out-shot Iowa (50.8% to 47.6%) and is 24-1 when shooting better than its opponent.
Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent for the 27th time this season and has a 23-4 record in those situations.
The Spartans are now 10-0 when committing 10 turnovers or fewer.
Michigan State is 23-0 when scoring at least 70 points, including a 15-0 mark when scoring at least 80 points.
MSU had five players score in double figures, just the fourth time this season with at least five players in double figures.
The Spartans received 25 points from the bench, the 29th time in 30 games with at least 20 points.
Jase Richardson scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists
- This was his 17th game scoring in double figures and his eighth-straight game with at least 10 points.
- He has led the team in scoring eight times.
Jaden Akins scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, adding two rebounds and tying for a team-high with four assists
- This was his 24th game scoring in double figures this season and the 58th of his career.
- Akins now has 1,168 career points, passing Lindsay Hairston (1972-75) for 42nd place all-time and he needs nine points to pass Lee Lafayette (1966-69) for 41st place.
- He has led the team in assists twice this year and four times for his career.
Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures nine times this season and 11 for his career.
- It was his 16th time leading the team in rebounds this year and the 19th of his career.
Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
- He has scored in double figures nine times this year.
Tre Holloman scored 11 points and tied for a team-best with four assists.
- It was his 11th game in double figures this year and the 17th of his career.
- He has led the team in assists nine times this year and 18 for his career.
Coen Carr finished with eight points, five rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.

Up Next
Michigan State closes out the regular season on Sunday, March 9 at the Breslin Center, hosting No. 17 Michigan. The game will air on CBS at noon, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling all of the action.

Five in Double Figures as No. 8 Michigan State Beats Iowa, 91-84, to Clinch Outright Big Ten Regular Season Title

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Team Stats

Jase Richardson

Jaxon Kohler

Jaden Akins

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

Five in Double Figures as No. 8 Michigan State Beats Iowa, 91-84, to Clinch Outright Big Ten Regular Season Title

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Jase Richardson

Jaxon Kohler

Jaden Akins

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

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