Tom Izzo lost his father on Monday night and it seemed like the Michigan State basketball team would have a rough week ahead. That was the case as the Iowa Hawkeyes made the Spartans earn every point at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Michigan State’s top player, Denzel Valentine, was out for the second straight game and many people, including myself and Vegas, predicted a Spartans’ loss.
Getting down early, the Spartans didn’t have enough firepower to make a comeback, going into halftime with a 14-point deficit. Izzo didn’t look like himself on the sidelines, clearly still upset with the loss of his father less than 24 hours earlier, there was little life in the lineups MSU put forth and not even Denzel’s coaching from the sidelines could help.