Feb. 23, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Raymar Morgan scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and No. 19 Michigan State beat Iowa 66-52 on Saturday, coach Tom Izzo's 300th career win with the Spartans.

Six weeks after a humbling 43-36 loss to the Hawkeyes, the Spartans (22-5, 10-4 Big Ten) jumped to a 20-1 lead over the opening 10:20 and were never seriously threatened.

Michigan State committed a season-low five turnovers, 13 fewer than it had in Iowa City.

Drew Neitzel had 12 points and Drew Naymick grabbed eight rebounds for the Spartans, who also answered an 85-76 upset at Penn State three weeks ago with an 86-49 win on Wednesday.

Cyrus Tate led Iowa (12-16, 5-10) with a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 at the line.

The Hawkeyes missed their first nine shots of the game. They rallied to shoot 56.5 percent in the second half but couldn't cut into a 31-18 halftime lead.

Michigan State won its 20th straight at the Breslin Center and moved to 180-22 at home Izzo's 13 seasons.

An appreciative sellout crowd, including dozens of former players, stuck around for a post-game tribute to Izzo, who trails his mentor, Jud Heathcote, by 40 victories on the Spartans' all-time list. Heathcote was at Michigan State for 19 seasons, including the 1979 national championship.

Izzo, who has a career mark of 300-126, didn't have much to complain about in his team's terrific opening 10 minutes. And Morgan took over in the last 20, going 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the line.

It was Morgan's second straight strong game after a midwinter slump. His only problem was a continuation of early foul trouble, which limited him to 6 minutes in the first half.

Neitzel struggled from the field, going 4-for-15. But he was 3-for-10 from 3-point range and had another strong floor game with five assists and no turnovers.

Michigan State, the league's top rebounding team, had a 33-30 edge on the boards, including 17 at the offensive end.

The Spartans need wins over No. 11 Wisconsin on Thursday and No. 15 Indiana on Sunday to have a chance at a share of the regular-season conference title.