Robert Bondy, Spartans WireWed, December 3, 2025 at 2:15 AM UTC·2 min readMichigan State basketball opened up Big Ten play with an exclamation mark on Tuesday night.
The Spartans used a stifling defensive effort to pick up a convincing win over Iowa on Tuesday in both team's first Big Ten game this year. Michigan State lead by double-digits at halftime, and the game never got back within single digits in the second half en route to a Spartans' 71-52 win over the Hawkeyes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe first half was a defensive battle, with Michigan State eventually putting together an improved offensive effort to build a nice lead. Michigan State held Iowa to 33% from the field, and got 10 points out of Jeremy Fears Jr. to take a 35-21 lead into the break.
Iowa was able to get its offense to wake up a bit in the second half, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the Spartans. Michigan State's lead never went lower than 13 points, as the Spartans ran away with a convincing victory over the Hawkeyes.
Coen Carr (15 points), Fears Jr. (14 points) and Jaxon Kohler (12 points) all reached double-digits in points for the Spartans in the win. Kohler also had 11 rebounds to record a double-double.
With the win, Michigan State improves to 8-0 on the year and now 1-0 in Big Ten play. This was the first loss of the year for Iowa, who now falls to 7-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNext up for the Spartans is a top 10 battle against Duke on Saturday afternoon from the Breslin Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the game set to be televised on FOX.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State basketball dominates Iowa in Big Ten opener
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