Iowa vs. Michigan State: Score and Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

No. 1 Michigan State is undefeated no more following an 83-70 loss to unranked Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday evening. 

ESPN Stats & Info provided some background on the Hawkeyes' historic victory: 

Playing without star Denzel Valentine after the senior underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee, the Spartans couldn't muster enough offense against an Iowa team that has been trending in a positive direction all season.

Yahoo Sports' Brad Evans and Fox Sports' Reid Forgrave noted the importance of Valentine's absence: 

As a team, the Spartans shot 42.2 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three as just two players finished in double figures. Eron Harris led the way with a team-high 21 points, while Matt Costello added 17 points and seven boards. 

It didn't help that Michigan State's other starters combined to score 14 points.

Iowa, meanwhile, received steady contributions from a number of players on a night when the Hawkeyes poured in 48.2 percent of their shots and 46.2 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. 

Mike Gesell and Peter Jok served as the steadiest scorers for Iowa, dropping 25 and 19 points, respectively, in the upset. Nicholas Baer chipped in 11 points off the bench, while forward Jarrod Uthoff stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds and six blocks. 

Iowa also received an inadvertent contribution from Michigan State's Alvin Ellis III at the start of the second half, per the Big Ten Network on Twitter:

Although the Hawkeyes entered Tuesday with three losses to their name, the Big Ten sleepers proved they shouldn't be overlooked. Iowa has now notched wins over Michigan State and Wichita State and played Iowa State to a one-point loss. The Hawkeyes also acquitted themselves nicely in a six-point loss to Notre Dame.

Thanks to Iowa's resume-boosting win, there are now just four unbeaten teams remaining in Division I: Oklahoma, Xavier, SMU and South Carolina. 

Michigan State isn't headlining that group anymore, but the Spartans should be able to parlay Tuesday's defeat into motivation for a Jan. 14 rematch.

When the teams meet in East Lansing in just over two weeks, Michigan State could have Valentine back. Look for head coach Tom Izzo's squad to respond in a big way when things tip off at the Breslin Student Events Center. 

Postgame Reaction

"We really sustained effort and paid attention to the details," Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I think we disrupted their offense quite a bit."

Matt Benson and ESPN Stats & Info shared some mind-boggling facts: 

"Iowa played awfully well," Izzo said, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen's Matt Cozzi. "This was one of the rare times in my career I thought we got pummeled."