Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from close win over Iowa

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Michigan State’s Jaden Akins reacts after being called for a foul during the second half in the game against Iowa on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the Breslin Center in Lansing.230126 Msu Iowa Bball 106a /

1. Michigan State nearly got caught looking ahead

This game had “trap” written all over it.

The Spartans were coming in after a tough loss to Indiana after holding a nine-point lead and they were getting Malik Hall back. They probably expected to just run away with a win over a slightly above-average Iowa team much like they did against Rutgers the last time the Spartans were at home. And they may have been caught looking ahead to Sunday’s big game at Purdue.

Michigan State struggled to get a lead early on as it led 26-23 and then immediately surrendered that after a timeout. Then, in the second half, Michigan State was playing catch-up for about 17 minutes.

The Spartans nearly got caught overlooking Iowa because of that trip to Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon. Of course, no one will ever admit that and Tom Izzo doesn’t preach that type of mentality, but it’s hard not to think about a matchup with the No. 1 team in the country in an environment that Michigan State hasn’t won in since 2014 — especially when the Spartans felt they should have beaten this Purdue team at home last week.

Fortunately, Michigan State was able to escape disaster.

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