Iowa 78, Michigan State 71: Back on the Bubble?

EAST LANSING -- Iowa traveled to the Breslin Center on Tuesday night and defeated Michigan State, the No. 20 team in the NET rankings, 78-71.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

Iowa's star freshman Owen Freeman saw the court for just 3:04 of the first half after being called for two quick fouls. He sat the rest of the half.

"Foul trouble has been kind of an unfortunate trend for us this year," Ben Krikke said postgame. "Owen picking up those two early ones kind of hurt. The message to him was 'Keep your head. We'll come back to you whenever you come back in.'"

Freeman wasn't the only freshman big to ride the pin in the first half. Ladji Dembele committed two fouls early before re-entering the game just a few minutes later. He was promptly called for a third foul and sent to the bench.

Without two of their three primary bigs on the floor for the the half, Krikke stepped up big, serving as a key piece in Iowa's eventual 45-33 halftime lead. He posted 11 points and an outlandish nine rebounds over the first 20 minutes and combined with Patrick McCaffery and Payton Sandfort for 37 of Iowa's 45 first half points.

After returning in the second half, Freeman saw just three minutes before once again getting called for two fouls, and once again found his seat on the bench.

"I thought he responded well, obviously he struggled in the second half too, but he was good," Krikke added. "He just continued to play his roll and cheer on the guys when he was on the bench. He kept his head, remained positive and just talked with some of the guys on the bench. That's huge."

Krikke kept it going in Freeman's absence, adding seven points and five boards to finish with 18 points and 14 rebounds and a double-double.

"I've been challenging Ben since the Maryland game and he has been outstanding," Fran McCaffery said postgame. "He had to play a lot of the five spot because of foul trouble. The kid just kept fighting."

"The [rebounds] he didn't get he was in there fighting. He was mixing it up. [Michigan State] is a team that prides themselves on offensive rebounding. ... You've got to get that first miss when you can. Boy, did he do a good job of that."

Freeman eventually returned, and though he only played eight minutes, the freshman still contributed eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a block.

For a majority of the season, a second-half offensive stall has been the theme for the Hawkeyes. Generally, how they respond to the stretch of fruitless offense determines the outcome of the game.

Against the Spartans, that stretch came between 18:00 and 12:15 to go in the second half. Iowa's only points for just under six minutes came on three free throws from Sandfort, and Sparty outscored the Hawks, 11-3. Thanks to their defense, they stayed in it.

"We had some empty possessions, but we went back and got stops," McCaffery said. "That's the key, because you can hang your head -- you get an empty possession and they're in transition -- you've got to get back, get a stop and keep the lead. That's what we did."

Part of their defensive success came when they flipped from man-to-man defense to zone as well.

"The activity in the zone was very good," Krikke said. "We need to shore up the wide-open threes, but overall we had good activity. We got stops when we needed to, and we rebounded the ball, too."

The Hawkeyes made a barrage of free throws over the final stretch as well, hitting 9-13 in the second half and 4-6 over the final minute.

"The good thing is that we got to the double bonus," McCaffery said. "Now you're shooting two, and our guys are going to step up there and make them. I couldn't be more proud of our guys tonight."

It all wouldn't have happened without the effort of Sandfort, who finished the night with 22 points and six rebounds, including three of the final four made free throws and five of the Hawkeyes final seven points.

Prior to Iowa's 88-86 OT win over Wisconsin on Saturday, Iowa was 0-7 against Quad 1 teams. They've now won back-to-back Quad 1 wins following the victory over the Spartans.

"I think [this win] was huge," Krikke said. "I think it shows that we can play with anybody in this league. Hopefully we can carry it over, continue the positive momentum, continue to battle hard and keep pushing it just one day at a time."

With the win, the Hawkeyes may have thrust themselves back into the bubble conversation for making the NCAA Tournament.

"That's the plan," McCaffery said. "We'll just keep improving as the season goes on. We've had some tough losses and some great wins. We've just got to stay connected, stay together and stay in the fight."

McCaffery saw firsthand how his team feels at this point in the season, especially after another big win.

"[The team] was incredibly boisterous, jubilant -- pick any term you want," he said. "That's what it's all about. Guys go on the road, in a hostile environment, concentrate on a gameplan, lock in and they get the job done. There's no better feeling as a competitor. What you do then is you enjoy it. We encourage them to enjoy it, and that's what they're doing."

Up next, the Hawkeyes will take on Illinois (19-6, 10-4) in Champaign on Saturday, February 24 at 1:15 pm CT on Big Ten Network.