By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – As the last few seconds ticked off the clock in Iowa’s near-upset against Big Ten leader Michigan State, graduate guard Drew Thelwell was seated at the end of the Iowa bench with his face buried in a towel.

Thelwell had just limped off the court yet again with another ankle injury, while his team had just let the opportunity for a massive upset slip away as Michigan State, powered by a 33-6 scoring run in the second half, overcame a double-digit deficit to win 91-84 on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Michigan State improved to 16-3 in conference play and clinched the Big Ten regular-season title with the victory. However, its legendary head coach Tom Izzo seemed more impressed with Iowa’s gritty performance on Senior Day, and with Fran McCaffery’s coaching performance.

“Not because he’s a good friend, but I listen to things and read things and Fran out-coached us and his team out-played us for 75 percent of that game,” Izzo said. “They did a hell of a job.

“I think how they competed tonight and what they did, I just want to take my hat off to them.”

Izzo also paid his respects to Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort, who almost certainly just played his final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Sandfort, he’s had a hell of a career,” Izzo said of the Waukee native. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to have him in this league. And Frannie better keep grinding it because the guy can coach.

“I did a poor job in the first half. I didn’t think my team was ready to play.”

Fran McCaffery’s coaching future has become a hot topic as the losses have continued to mount this season.

Iowa fell to 6-13 in the Big Ten and 15-15 overall and will finish the regular season against Nebraska on Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Iowa will have to beat the Cornhuskers to have any chance of making the Big Ten Tournament, which only takes the top 15 teams in the 18-team conference.

Fran McCaffery told the media on Tuesday that he is fully committed to the Iowa program and that he has no intention of moving on after his 15th season as the Iowa head coach.

His team then flirted with an upset two days later, but just didn’t have enough firepower to withstand Michigan State’s depth, athleticism and physicality.

Fran McCaffery met with the media just minutes after Izzo’s press conference and McCaffery was told what Izzo had said about him, and about the Iowa team.

“I think it’s a credit to the guys,” Fran McCaffery said. “I appreciate him saying that. I really do. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t believe it. I appreciate that and it’s reflection on these guys. and how they keep fighting. I’m really proud of them.”

Iowa fell behind 11-5, but then answered with a 22-2 scoring run to take a 27-13 lead in the first half.

The impossible suddenly seemed possible as the Spartans appeared flustered on both offense and defense.

Michigan State trailed 37-30 at halftime and only made 4-of-16 shots from 3-point range in the first half. The Spartans also struggled to defend Iowa’s pick-and-roll offense.

It marked the ninth time in the last 10 games that Michigan State has trailed at halftime.

“In my humble opinion, we tried to change our identity” Izzo said of his team’s performance in the first half. “And then all the sudden we’re going to be pretty boys and shoot 16 threes in a half, and this, that and the other thing.

“We didn’t guard anybody. They were killing us in every way, shape and form.”

But as the Spartans so often do, they regrouped at halftime then seized the momentum and eventually the lead in the second half.

“Did we wear them down a little bit? Maybe,” Izzo said. “We’ve done that to a lot of people.

“We got out-played for a majority of that (game), and yet I do give my team credit for having some character on the road to come back. It didn’t seem like it was our night, and for that I’m greatly appreciative.”

While both head coaches exchanged pleasantries after the game, the play on the court wasn’t nearly as nice.

Michigan State guard Tre Holloman had some heated face-to-face words for Iowa point guard Brock Harding about midway through the second half, and with Spartans still trailing.

Holloman was pulled away by his teammates, but whatever he said seems to have inspired the Spartans as they would go on to put the game away with the 33-6 scoring run.

Payton Sandfort was among four Iowa players that scored in double figures with 15 points. Junior guard Josh Dix led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 18 points, while sophomore forward Seydou Traore finished with 15 points and Pryce Sandfort added 12 off the bench.

Pryce Sandfort is Payton Sandfort’s younger brother.

Payton Sandfort showed a tear in his uniform as he prepared to meet with the media afterwards. It seemed to be his way of suggesting that Michigan State got away with being too physical.

Fran McCaffery also pointed out at least twice in his post-game press conference that Michigan State shot 27 free throws in the second half.

“I got a big-ass hole in this jersey,” Payton Sandfort said to reporters. “Hopefully, I can take it home now, though.

“But that’s alright. That’s the least of the problems.”

Asked if it was a physical game, Payton Sandfort said: “Yeah, I guess.”

Payton Sandfort and Drew Thelwell were among five seniors that were honored before Thursday’s game. The others were forward Even Brauns, center Riley Mulvey and walk-on guard Luc Laketa.

Brauns, who graduated from Iowa City West High School, scored seven points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

Thelwell also scored seven points before limping off the court in the closing seconds.

This is Thelwell’s first and only season as a Hawkeye, and the last three weeks have been a nightmare for the 6-foot-3 native of Orlando, Florida.

Thelwell played his previous four seasons for Morehead State where he ended his career last season as the program’s all-time winningest player.

Thelwell and Payton Sandfort both had big plans for this season, but it just hasn’t worked out as they had hoped, due partly to injuries.

Iowa lost sophomore forward Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, to a season-ending finger injury in early February.

His injury, coupled with Thelwell’s ankle injury, has just been too much to overcome.

“It sucks, man, he’s been through the ringer,” Payton Sandfort said of Thelwell, who played 28.50 minutes in Thursday’s game. “It sucks to go out that way. That’s just the guy he is, though, to keep battling through that. I’m proud of him and I’m proud of all the other guys that have battled through kind of the same thing.”

Before ending his press conference, Izzo voiced more support for Fran McCaffery, reminding reporters what Fran McCaffery is up against from an NIL standpoint as the Iowa head coach.

Iowa’s NIL contribution for men’s basketball ranks near the bottom of the conference.

“They don’t have the resources here,” Izzo said. “I’m going to say what I think. This ain’t what Fran thinks. Everybody has different amounts of resources. They’re not in the middle or the high end.”