Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from slim win over Iowa

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a play during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 19: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates his made basket late in the second half during a game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Breslin Center on January 19, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

3. Nick Ward is getting his confidence back

Nick Ward played just 12 minutes against Iowa, and yes, he got his groove back. When you hear the phrase “Ward played just 12 minutes” you are usually inclined to believe Tom Izzo sat him as a teaching lesson. However, this time it was due to foul trouble.

Ward picked up two early fouls and wad forced to sit for most of the first half — Jaren Jackson Jr., too. When he was on the floor, he was effective.

The sophomore forward finished with 17 points and four rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting. He only had one truly poor shot and that came in the second half and it looked to have missed everything. Other than that, he looked like his usual self from the first half of the Big Ten season.

This was an important showing for the sophomore seeing as he was losing confidence with every double-team in the five, or so, games before Iowa. He looked much more calm and outside of the questionable fouls, he was nearly flawless.

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