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Highlights: Iowa at Michigan State | Big Ten Basketball

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EAST LANSING - Tom Izzo knows 3-pointers can sometimes be a mirage, even though Michigan State has enjoyed an oasis of buckets from long range the past two years.

The 10th-ranked Spartans' outside shooting, a driving offensive factor all season, went dry Monday night against No. 18 Iowa. A season-low three 3-pointers fell in 12 tries from beyond the arc.

So they found another way to win, the old-school Izzo way - by pounding the ball in the paint. Over and over.

"I think that is important," Izzo said, "because as you remember, for a while there early, we were living and dying on the 3s. And that's not going to win you big games."

The results?

A career high for Nick Ward.

A career high for Kenny Goins.

A career high for Xavier Tillman.

And a complete dismantling of the Hawkeyes in a 90-68 victory in MSU's Big Ten home opener.

"We just go into the game and play as hard as we can and try to execute our game plan to the best of our ability," Ward said. "That really helped us."

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The Spartans' trio of big men combined for 59 points on 21 of 25 shooting and 17 of 23 free throws. They also were plus-57 between them as MSU finished with a 48-20 edge in scoring in the paint and outrebounded the Hawkeyes 44-37. Ward, Goins and Tillman combined for 31 of those boards.

"That was a hell of a performance," Izzo said, joking he might give assistant Dwayne Stephens - who coaches the post players - the day off Tuesday as a reward.

"All three of our bigs tonight I thought, were really, really good. They played well together, they played well off each other."

Ward couldn't be stopped around the basket and produced a 29 efficiency score - an advanced metric which adds up points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and then subtracts misses and turnovers.

More: Michigan State basketball has another complete game, easily beats Iowa

The 6-foot-9 junior scored a career-high 26 points, making all 10 of his shot attempts around the rim on seven layups and three dunks. He also grabbed nine rebounds, four on the offensive glass, and blocked two shots.

Izzo called Ward "a different player" from last year's version.

"I think it's just the maturity of him," Izzo said. "I'm proud of what he's done, because he's done it the old-fashioned way, you know? He worked his tail off. ... I've learned not to give certain guys too much credit, but I do got to give him credit because I'm proud of what he's done and how he's done it."

Goins put together his best game as a Spartan, stuffing the stat sheet in a number of ways and finishing with a team-best 35 efficiency. The 6-7 forward scored a career-best 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, peppering in a few jumpers from the free-throw line and baseline, and grabbing 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He also equaled a personal best with seven assists.

Michigan State forward Kenny Goins scores against Iowa forward Tyler Cook during second half action Monday, December 3, 2018 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

"I've always been impressed by him. I think a better indicator is what Tom (Izzo) thinks of him," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said, of Goins. "Tom always plays him and trusts him. He battles you on the glass, he scores when he has to, and he defends. The guy's a winner."

Tillman also helped MSU's dominance inside, scoring a career-high 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. The 6-8 sophomore had eight rebounds and blocked four of MSU's six shots. Tillman finished with a 26 efficiency.

Joshua Langford added 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting, and fellow junior guard Cassius Winston had eight points and 12 assists.

Much of what Tillman and Ward were able to do on offense came as a result of Izzo running Goins in the high post against Iowa's 2-3 zone and having his fifth-year senior dropping passes from the free-throw line to the other two big men.

Four of Goins' assists went to Ward, three of them in second half, and two to Tillman on back-to-back baskets that helped MSU build a 10-point lead at half.

"It makes a team play honest," Ward said. "Cassius and Josh, they're scoring. High-low is a game that it's either you sag in on me and let Cash and Josh shoot, or you play up top on Cash and Josh and go one-on-one with your bigs. It's really pick your poison."

The Spartans (7-2, 2-0 Big Ten) led by as many as 33 points in the second half, benefiting from the Hawkeyes missing 19 of their first 20 shots. MSU turned that into a 22-3 knockout punch - which included 13 points between Ward, Goins and Tillman - over the first 9 minutes and 40 seconds.

"As that lead started to build, you could see (Iowa's) frustration more and more," Goins said. "That just kind of lifts you up. Even if you're tired, you feel so much better about it."

MSU's three big men also helped minimize what was going on offensively for the Hawkeyes (6-2, 0-2). Iowa center Luke Garza, who entered averaging 13.9 points a game, made just 1 of 10 and finished with seven points.

Michigan State forward Xavier Tillman defends against Iowa guard Connor McCaffery during second half action Monday, December 3, 2018 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

Forward Tyler Cook scored 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting, but much of that came late in the game. The 6-9 junior was just 2 of 7 for five points in the first half and scored all 10 of his second-half points after Iowa fell behind by 30. His only shot attempt of the second half before that was a missed dunk.

"The guards helped in the post, and we had a variety of guys defending him between me, X and Nick," Goins said. "It was just keeping a fresh body on him at all times."

The Spartans get a few days off before they head to Gainesville to face Florida on Saturday (noon/CBS). And Izzo knows having played five games in 12 days in Las Vegas, Louisville, New Jersey and East Lansing requires a deep breath and some rest.

"We'll see if we can get a day off, feel better, practice good Wednesday and Thursday and get some practice then fly down to Florida," he said. "It will be another tough game on the road against an opponent in a tough place to play."
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!

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Michigan State basketball big men post career games to demolish Iowa

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CLOSE EAST LANSING - Tom Izzo knows 3-pointers can sometimes be a mirage, even though Michigan State has enjoyed an oasis of buckets from long range the past two years. The 10th-ranked Spartans' outside shooting, a driving offensive factor all season, went dry Monday night against No. 18 Iowa.