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The No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes will host the Michigan State Spartans in a Big Ten showdown on Thursday night.
The Hawkeyes are coming into the game as 5.5-point favorites, according to bet365. However, the Spartans control the overall series against Iowa with a 74-53 record, winning the most previous matchup, 78-70, in February 2020.
The Michigan State Spartans saw themselves move out of the AP Top 25 Poll due to their loss against Purdue over the weekend, despite beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights by 23 earlier in the week.
Match Details
Fixture: Michigan State Spartans vs Iowa Hawkeyes - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Thursday, January 14th, 2021, 9 PM ET
Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes Preview
The Iowa Hawkeyes are on a four-game win streak and are just a half-game back in the Big Ten Conference to the Michigan Wolverines. The Hawkeyes' latest win came on Sunday night in the rematch against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 86-71, avenging their loss earlier in the season.
The Hawkeyes were on the same page all night, providing 27 assists on their 31 made field goals. Here is what senior forward Luka Garza had to say about his team's play.
Our guards are really unselfish," Garza said. "When we get out on transition, that's when we're at our best".
If the Iowa Hawkeyes' guards can continue to make unselfish plays and set up their front-court players for easy baskets, they will defeat the Michigan State Spartans in the first of their two season matchups.
Key Player - Luka Garza
Luka Garza is the key player for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The junior forward's ability to score in the paint will cause problems for the Michigan State Spartans, who gave up 26 points to Purdue's forward, Trevion Williams, in their last outing.
If the Wooden-award favorite can continue to put up his average of 27.6 points a game against the Spartans, he will lead his team to their sixth Big Ten win.
Iowa Hawkeyes Predicted Lineup
C Luka Garza, G Jordan Bohannon, G Connor McCaffery, G CJ Fredrick, G Joe Wisekamp
Michigan State Spartans Preview
The Michigan State Spartans are coming off a disappointing loss where they were edged out in the last seconds by the Purdue Boilermakers, losing 54-55.
The offensive struggles continue to haunt the Spartans this season, as they hit 39% from the field and missed 11 of their last 13 shots, blowing their 15-point halftime lead.
The Spartans also finished with 14 turnovers in the game. Here is what Michigan State's coach, Tom Izzo, had to say about the loss,
We didn't deserve to win. They deserved to win. They made winning plays.
The Spartans will need to make game-winning plays and shoot the ball better to bounce back against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Key Player - Joshua Langford
Joshua Langford is the key player for the Michigan State Spartans. The senior guard scored 10 points against the Purdue Boilermakers, seven in the first half.
Langford will need to play well in both halves and score at a high rate to help his team upset the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Michigan State Spartans Predicted Lineup
F Aaron Henry, F Thomas Kithier, C Joey Hauser, G Joshua Langford, G A.J. Hoggard
Michigan State vs Iowa Prediction
The Iowa Hawkeyes will beat the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday night to earn their sixth Big Ten win.
Luka Garza will cause the Spartans to overcompensate to him on defense, allowing him to kick it out to open shooters on the perimeter.
Expect another big shooting night out of the Hawkeyes' guards, who went eight of 11 from downtown in their last outing.
Where to watch Michigan State vs Iowa
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports One.
