The men’s basketball team travels to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes at 8:35 p.m. Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The No. 6 Spartans (14-1, 2-0) are 57-51 all-time against Iowa (7-9, 0-3).
Breakdown
Freshman guard Kalin Lucas leaps in the air Saturday to score a layup in the second half against Minnesota at Breslin Center.
Guards
Drew Neitzel’s shot isn’t going on a consistent basis right now, but the senior co-captain has one statistic that ranks above all other NCAA players — a 4.79 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Iowa could be the team whose backcourt slacks off in guarding Neitzel, opening up room for him to knock down 3-pointers.
Travis Walton is playing tremendous basketball as well — mainly on the defensive side. He will more than likely guard Iowa’s leading scorer, Justin Johnson. Walton is much shorter but makes up for it with his quickness and aggressiveness.
Advantage MSU
Forward/Center
When it comes to banging bodies down low, MSU has been unbelievably inconsistent. Head coach Tom Izzo said he is concerned with Marquise Gray and Goran Suton’s abilities to actually get rebounds as opposed to having the ball fall into their arms.
The Hawkeyes implement much more guard play, as their four main scorers are all backcourt players. No Iowa player averages more than 6.5 rebounds a game. The Spartans are known for rebounding the basketball — including many of their own missed shots.
Advantage MSU
Bench
Iowa’s entire bench cannot even compare to just Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers. The fab freshmen are making huge strides for this team. Lucas has become a threat offensively, with points and assists, as well as defensively by picking off opponents’ passes.
MSU’s bench scored 37 points against Purdue — and going into its first Big Ten away game, that doesn’t hurt at all. Iowa needs to get some productivity from J.R. Angle, Jeff Peterson and Kurt Looby. If the statistics don’t come, neither will a win.
Advantage MSU
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Intangibles
The Hawkeyes are going to be revved up and ready to go for this one. A chance to knock off a No. 6-ranked team at home would get anyone excited. Iowa, to be completely honest, has nothing to lose in this contest.
They’ll be throwing everything at the Spartans.
Izzo has recently mentioned MSU’s lack of toughness — how players play, but only tough players win. Iowa has a much better chance to play tough in this one.
Advantage Iowa
Coaching
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Last season, Iowa posted a 9-7 record, finishing higher than MSU’s 8-8 record. New season, new outcome, however. Izzo said his team isn’t great yet, but it would work hard during the week’s practices to get ready for the road.
It’s unlikely Lickliter will outcoach Izzo in this one. Thirteen seasons in the Big Ten as a head coach trumps Lickliter’s resume.
Izzo gives his roster the freedom to be versatile on offense.
Advantage MSU
