• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Freeman helps Iowa upset Michigan State

Jan 13, 2008 - 7:41 AM IOWA CITY, Iowa (Ticker) -- Tony Freeman scored 22 points and Iowa had a strong defensive performance en route to 43-36 upset of sixth-ranked Michigan State on Saturday night.

The Spartans (14-2, 2-1 Big Ten) grabbed an 18-9 lead on Chris Allen's 3-pointer with 8:02 left in the first half, but failed to score again before the break.

Michigan State's offensive struggles lasted for nearly 10 minutes overall with Iowa (8-9, 1-3) going on a 13-0 run over that stretch. Freeman scored the first eight points for the Hawkeyes during the burst, which resulted in them holding a 22-18 lead with 18:14 remaining in the second half.

"All I can say is that it's an embarrassing loss the way we played," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I didn't think we had one guy that played even close to capable. We missed layups, we missed free throws, and we just couldn't find a way to get over the hump."

Even though their performance did not get too much better from there, the Spartans did crawl back into the game until a pair of 3-pointers by Freeman crippled their chances.

Freeman, who knocked down five shots from the arc in the contest, gave the Hawkeyes a 34-30 lead after hitting a 3-pointer with 4:36 left. The junior guard made another critical shot from the arc with 69 seconds remaining to make it 40-34.

"(Freeman) did a great job," Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said. "He was poised and made great shots. He's a terrific jump-shooter."

Kurt Looby collected nine points and Cyrus Tate added another nine and grabbed seven rebounds for Iowa, which overcame shooting a dismal 26 percent (11-of-42) from the field.

"We stayed with what we wanted to do," Lickliter said. "We're very capable of getting to the line and getting fouled. I just wish we would have made a couple more."

Goren Suton scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Raymar Morgan added 10 points for Michigan State, which also had a poor shooting performance, making just 30 percent (16-of-53).

"It was a total breakdown by just about every player on our team, and that doesn't happen very often," Izzo said. "I'm very disappointed. I thought that was one of the poorest overall games we've played, maybe since I've been head coach."

Drew Neitzel had 10 points and six assists for the Spartans, who had an 11-game winning streak snapped.

"All the little things, not knowing what to do, we just weren't there," Izzo said. "We deserved what we got. Hats off to Iowa and disappointment for us. We were out of it all night. This will be a tape that gets burned."