All eyes were on Michigan State and Iowa this weekend as the Spartans and Hawkeyes squared off in a Big Ten college basketball battle.
Both teams entered the game with 17 wins, and Iowa was expected to protect its home court, according to the odds. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, they did just that, outscoring Sparty, 112-106.
But bettors who had Michigan State +5.5 tickets weren’t so lucky. They were hit with perhaps the best blow of the hoops season as the Spartans lost by six points.
At FOX Bet, the Hawkeyes were 5.5-point favorites over their conference rivals. And until the 1:34 mark of the game, it looked like bettors who bet on the Spartans to cover would pay off, as Michigan State won 91-78. In fact, bettors who took Michigan State to win outright were also probably counting their money prematurely at the time.
However, Iowa had other plans. Coach Fran McCaffery’s team got hot from the perimeter late. And by hot, we mean the Hawkeyes pretty much couldn’t miss.
And speaking of Miss…
It looked like State had the game over. Countless fans made a mad dash for the exits, missing the Black and Gold’s final rally.
In the final minute and a half of regulation, Iowa went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes’ epic 3-point shooting performance helped them tie it at 101 and send the game into overtime.
The extra five-minute period was almost all Hawk.
Overtime opened with Iowa winning the tip, followed by two free throws from Kris Murray that put his team ahead 103-101. After that, Iowa guard Tony Perkins led the winning charge, grabbing offensive and defensive boards, hitting FTs and even electrifying the crowd with a dunk.
With 20 seconds left in OT, MSU’s AJ Hoggard made one free throw but missed the other. Even making one could have kept the score closer to 5.5 points.
With eight seconds left, Spartan Malik Hall made one last effort but missed a three-point jumper.
What would have happened if the three of Hall had actually entered? Well, a mark would surely have brought smiles to the faces of MSU +5.5 bettors, as this would have brought the state to three.
But not so lucky.
The Hawkeyes protected their arena, and the Spartan punters were defeated.
There’s always next week!
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