Michigan State escapes at Iowa
Once the calendar hits February, avoiding a bad loss can be as important as earning a big win.
Miles Bridges had 25 points and a crucial steal with five seconds left and fourth-ranked Michigan State rallied on the road past lowly Iowa 96-93 for its seventh straight win.
Nick Ward added 17 points and Joshua Langford had 15 for the tired Spartans (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten), playing their fifth game in 12 days. They got a serious scare from the Hawkeyes in what was supposed to be a tuneup for Saturday’s home game against No. 3 Purdue.
“I hope y’all enjoyed the offensive fireworks, because I don’t think either team played any defense,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said as both teams shot better than 50 percent. “These are the dog days.”
Michigan State had Bridges to make the big plays down the stretch.
After trailing by as many as eight, Bridges hit two free throws to give Michigan State a 92-91 lead with 1:02 left. He hit two more from the line to make it a three-point game.
Tyler Cook cut Iowa’s deficit to 94-93 — and Bridges missed both of his free-throw tries after his big steal with his team up three. Nicholas Baer then could muster only a halfcourt shot for the Hawkeyes, and it bounced harmlessly off the rim.
Cook scored 26 points for Iowa (12-14, 3-10).
“I’ll give you the best excuse I can give you: The five games in 12 days is really taking a toll on us,” Izzo said. “We were beat.”