Michigan State basketball flashes dominance in blowout win over Iowa

Michigan State basketball got a big lead early on and stepped on the gas en route to a 90-68 win over Iowa on Monday night.

If you were expecting a good game on Monday night in East Lansing between two top-20 Big Ten opponents, you were sorely let down. Michigan State took it to No. 18 Iowa in dominant fashion, 90-68.

This is the kind of win that has to make Spartan fans feel much better about the outlook of their Big Ten campaign, routing Iowa to improve to 2-0 in conference play with a Saturday matchup at Florida approaching.

Michigan State controlled the game seemingly from start to finish, capturing a lead early on and extending it to 10 by halftime before running away with a 22-point win.

Cassius Winston was a star despite not making many shots, going 2-for-9 from the field, but he finished with 12 assists. However, it was Nick Ward who stole the show, finishing with a game-high 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and a perfect 10-for-10 from the field.

Not much could go wrong for the Spartans, but if there was one weakness, it had to have been the 3-point shooting — Michigan State went just 3-for-12. If Michigan State can win by 22 points — it should have been closer to 30, but the end-of-bench players were in for the final few minutes — by making just three 3-pointers, that’s a good sign of things to come.

Not becoming to reliant on threes is something Tom Izzo wants to emphasize. The Syracuse loss in the NCAA Tournament last year proved you can die by the three just as easy, if not easier, than living by it.

Kenny Goins was the surprise of the night, scoring 19 points with 14 rebounds and seven assists while Xavier Tillman came off the bench to score 14 with eight rebounds and four blocks.

And all of this is without top perimeter defender Matt McQuaid. Maybe this Michigan State team isn’t too shabby, after all.