Michigan State Basketball: 3 positives from tough loss at No. 8 Iowa

Michigan State basketball lost its fourth straight game in Big Ten play but for the first time in a month, there were positives from a Spartan game.

In a normal season after a fourth straight loss, many would be hard-pressed to find any positives about a basketball team. Michigan State’s 2020-21 season is a little different.

The Spartans began the year 6-0 and looked solid before losing three straight and then responded with two straight wins, including a 23-point thrashing of then-No. 15 Rutgers. Michigan State was within seconds of pulling off a third straight win and improving to 9-3 overall with a home win over Purdue, but a complete second-half meltdown prevented that.

Since then, Michigan State had a two-week COVID-19 pause and three more losses in a row, including a Tuesday night heartbreaker at No. 8 Iowa — a game in which no one gave the Spartans a shot to even sniff a win.

But Michigan State had a chance to win with about a minute left and probably should have eked out a victory.

So let’s talk positives despite a fourth straight loss.

3. Marcus Bingham Jr. was impressive defensively

Marcus Bingham Jr. played just 11 minutes on Tuesday night, but that was to no fault of his own. He was in foul trouble from the get-go and ended up fouling out before the final buzzer sounded. He finished with no points and five fouls, but he had four rebounds and a block and did a solid job against Luka Garza in the post.

The officiating was benefitting Garza all game long and it seemed like the crew was ready to blow the whistle any time he touched the ball in the post — he finished with 14 free throw attempts.

But Bingham Jr. not getting bodied in the post by Garza and even having a positive presence down low on that end of the floor gives this team hope for the immediate future with bigs like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kofi Cockburn matchups coming up.

This was a major positive for the Spartans.