Iowa's startling comeback over Michigan State featured Fran McCaffery's bizarre referee stare-down
Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery got into a bizarre stare-down with an official during the Hawkeye’s home tilt with Michigan State on Saturday afternoon.
It seemed to have helped, because his Iowa team completed a major comeback win over the Spartans.
Iowa trailed by 13 with 1:34 to play, but would outscore MSU 23-10 over the rest of regulation to tie things at 101-101 on a Payton Sandfort made three with three seconds left. The Hawkeyes would go on to win the game, 112-106 after five extra minutes.
It was an all-time comeback win for a Big 10 hoops team.
Right before that roaring rebuttal, as the Hawkeyes trailed by 10, McCaffery shared a strange moment with one of the three referees.
— Nathan Ford (@NathanTFord) February 25, 2023
Iowa outscored Michigan State by a score of 26-10 in the final 40 seconds of regulation and overtime.
One of the greatest comebacks in Big Ten history. pic.twitter.com/MfQhrqXwJh
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) February 25, 2023
Michigan State’s win probability was nearly 100 percent before Iowa’s remarkable turnaround with seconds remaining.
Michigan State’s win probability at ESPN hit 99.8% in the final minutes of regulation before Iowa went on its run. pic.twitter.com/GyhHCNgFBP
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 25, 2023
Talk about a dramatic way to start the Saturday hoops schedule.
The Hawkeyes picked up a key Big 10 victory ahead of the conference tournament, and McCaffery made himself available to the internet for possible memes. It’s a wild reminder that even late-regular season college basketball can be really exciting.
Feature image courtesy of ESPN.