Keith Appling led No. 22 Michigan State Spartans past the Iowa Hawkeyes 62-59.
Appling hit four free throws in the final minute to help his side post their eighth victory in the last nine games.
Branden Dawson added a career-high 17 points, which included a tiebreaking dunk for Michigan State, while Gary Harris scored 14 points and chipped in five rebounds. Adreian Payne finished with 10 points and six rebounds against Iowa.
"There's a lot of things we need to get better at. But that was a big win on the road, especially the way we played," the Associated Press quoted Michigan State coach Tom Izzo as saying.
Dawson took stole the ball from Hawkeyes' Mike Gesell to put Michigan State 58-56 ahead with 49 seconds remaining in the game, but it was Appling, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, four of them crucial points from the foul line, which made all the difference.
"I said, 'Keith, it's going to be like Kansas. I'm putting it in your hands. You've got to make some decisions,'" Izzo said.
For the Hawkeyes, Zach McCabe was the top scorer with 15 points and seven rebounds, Melsahn Basabe added 14 points and shot a perfect five out of five attempts from the floor, while Aaron White contributed with 11 points and six rebounds.
The Hawkeyes' Anthony Clemmons lost an opportunity to tie the game, when he missed a free throw with 12 seconds left.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Devyn Marble, who could not play against Michigan State because of a sprained ankle, was sorely missed and is also a major doubt for Sunday's game at Northwestern.
"It was tough offensively to get into the kind of rhythm we needed," McCaffrey said. They are a very physical team defensively, and we needed a guy who can break his man down and get to the rim and get to the free throw line.
"Of course, I don't know if anyone would have gotten to the free throw line most of the night.
Iowa started off well taking a 28-24 lead at the end of the first half.
With the help of Appling's late minute surge, Michigan outshined the Hawkeyes 38-31 in the second half to win the game by three points.
The Hawkeyes did not shoot well in the game, making just 4 out of 16 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
"We didn't play with any toughness, and that's disappointing. Offensively we played with no toughness whatsoever. Defensively we did. On the glass, we did. But you have the other end of the floor," McCaffery said.
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