Michigan State beats Iowa in game Tom Izzo says he's 'not sure we deserved to win'
Michigan State survived Thursday night at home against Iowa. The Spartans saw an excellent look at a game-winner from Iowa clang off the back of the iron with just seconds remaining to escape with a 63-61 victory over the Hawkeyes.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo felt they were lucky to escape.
“We lost a couple we deserved to win,” Izzo began, per the Detroit Free Press’ Chris Solari. “Tonight, I think we might have won one I’m not sure we deserved to win. As Jud used to say, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”
MSU coach Tom Izzo: "We lost a couple we deserved to win. Tonight, I think we might have won one I'm not sure we deserved to win. As Jud used to say, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 27, 2023
The win got Michigan State to 14-7 on the season and 6-4 in the Big Ten. And it ended a slide that could have been costly in the grand scheme of things. The Spartans are 3 games back of Purdue in the loss column for first place in the Big Ten. Had Iowa been able to pull out a victory Thursday night, MSU would have been on the wrong side of the scoreboard in 4 of its last 5.
But a win is a win.
MSU shot just 39% from the field and 58% from the free throw line. But it also held the Hawkeyes to 18% shooting from 3-point range.
Two of those misses came from forward Payton Sandfort in the final 10 seconds.
WHAT AN ENDING‼️@MSU_Basketball survives and gets the dub over the Hawkeyes. 😤 pic.twitter.com/YNtFaRC5xS
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 27, 2023