Iowa Hawkeyes at Michigan State Spartans
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Michigan State edges Iowa 63-61 with late buckets
Walker came back onto the floor after leaving for a few minutes with a foot injury and immediately hit a long 2-pointer for a 61-59 lead with 1:24 remaining. A half-minute later, Akins sank a short jumper for Michigan State's largest lead.
Iowa (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten) edged within two on Connor McCaffery's basket and got the ball back after Hoggard missed the front end of a one-and-one. But Payton Sandfort missed a pair of 3-point attempts.
Akins finished with 12 points, Walker and Mady Sissoko had 10 points each with Sissoko pulling down 10 rebounds for the Spartans (14-7, 6-4). Joey Hauser had three 3-pointers and 11 points and Malik Hall returned after a three-game absence to score 11. Hall, bothered by a left foot injury all season, has only played in 10 games.
Ahron Ulis scored a career-high 17 points, Filip Rebraca had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kris Murray, averaging over 21 points per game, had 11 for Iowa.
There was only one double-digit lead and that came after Iowa scored the first 10 points while the Spartans were missing their initial nine shots. Michigan State led 30-29 at halftime.
Neither team led by more than six in the second half. Over the final six minutes the Hawkeyes were 1 of 8. The Spartans missed five straight shots before Walker and Akins connected.
Iowa came in with the Big Ten's highest-scoring offense at nearly 82 points per game but ran into a Spartans team giving up under 66.
The win snapped the Spartans' three-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes. It was also their fifth win in their last six games while Iowa has lost two straight.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 61 - 63 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 61 - 63 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Connor McCaffery Offensive Rebound. | 61 - 63 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Payton Sandfort missed Three Point Jumper. | 61 - 63 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Connor McCaffery Offensive Rebound. | 61 - 63 |
Statistics
 IOWA |
 MSU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 26-57 | FG | 24-62 |
| 46 | Field Goal % | 39 |
| 3-17 | 3PT | 8-20 |
| 18 | Three Point % | 40 |
| 6-13 | FT | 7-12 |
| 46 | Free Throw % | 58 |
| 38 | Rebounds | 37 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 12 |
| 28 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 9 | Assists | 15 |
| 7 | Steals | 10 |
| 2 | Blocks | 4 |
| 13 | Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 13 | Total Turnovers | 10 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 10 | Points Off Turnovers | 18 |
| 8 | Fast Break Points | 12 |
| 38 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 13 | Fouls | 15 |
| 10 | Largest Lead | 4 |
Game Information
Location: East Lansing, MI
Attendance: 14,797 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 28-7 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 28-8 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 27-8 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 30-9 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 24-12 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-13 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 24-13 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |