The matchup between the No. 9 Spartans (15-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) and the Hawkeyes (14-3, 2-2) at Breslin Center looks to be a classic battle of tough offense against tough defense.

The Spartans are enjoying great success early in the season, mostly because of their stellar scoring defense, which is first in the Big Ten by allowing teams a measly 52 points per game.

On the other hand, Iowa offers a unique challenge to MSU head coach Suzy Merchant and company because the Hawkeyes are fourth in scoring offense with four players averaging at least nine points per game.

With that much fire power, one would expect the Hawkeyes to be shooters, but senior guard Brittney Thomas said that’s not the case.

“It’s kind of surprising, you would think threes are their most important part of the game,” she said. “But actually free throws are. So I think our focus is a little different than the last two years. So, I’m really liking the vibe of our game, which has been all different from the past two years.”

As the Spartans struggle from the charity stripe — attempting 273 free throws and hitting just 64 percent on the season — the Hawkeyes are flourishing, knocking down 77 percent and sinking almost as many free throws as the Spartans have attempted — 257.

Senior forward Cetera Washington said she agreed that keeping Iowa off the charity stripe will be the definitive factor.

“That’s where they get a lot of their points,” Washington said. “I mean, I think last year at their place (Alexander) had 16 free throw attempts against us and that can’t happen.”

MSU also will look to keep Iowa off the boards, which might not be as simple as it has been for the Spartans in previous games. Although MSU is outrebounding all Big Ten teams, the Hawkeyes are not far behind.

But the biggest advantage the Spartans might have is confidence. They are riding a 13-game winning streak and have reached their highest national ranking since 2006.

Although consistently winning gives confidence to any team, don’t expect the Spartans to stress about dropping in the rankings or losing their streak.

“I really don’t care about standings,” Washington said. “I don’t pay attention to it and it doesn’t really matter to me. … Probably can ask anyone else on the team, no one really even pays attention to it.”

As has been the case this season, Johnson had her teammates’ backs and said the team only takes it one game at a time.

“We don’t look at the numbers, we don’t look at how other people play, we just go out and look at Michigan State basketball,” Johnson said.

After Iowa, it doesn’t get much easier for the Spartans, who head to play center Jantel Lavender and No. 24 Ohio State, but Washington said as long as the team sticks to what it knows best, they can come out with more than just two victories.

“We keep playing defense and holding each other accountable like we are, then I think the sky is the limit with this team,” she said. “We get our runs off our defense, everyone knows that. We like to play tough-nose defense and run out on people, so we keep doing that and there’s great things (ahead) for this team.”