Tip Time: Michigan State at Iowa
Tyler Cook and the Hawkeyes host the Spartans on Thursday night.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
MICHIGAN STATE (17-2, 8-0) at IOWA (16-3, 4-3)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: FS1 – Tim Brando and Bill Raftery on the call.
SERIES: The Spartans hold a 74-55 edge in the all-time series and Michigan State has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools. The Hawkeyes have a 35-25 advantage in games played in Iowa City. Iowa’s last win over Michigan State in Iowa City was back on December 29th, 2015 when the Spartans were ranked #1 in the country. Michigan State defeated Iowa 90-68 earlier this season in a game played in East Lansing.
THE LINE: Michigan State is a 5 point favorite.
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: MICHIGAN STATE– 83.8 PPG, 49.9% FG, 38.4% 3 PT FG, IOWA – 82.8 PPG, 47.9% FG, 37.3% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: MICHIGAN STATE– 66.1 PPG, 36.6% FG, 30.5% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 72.2 PPG, 43.4% FG, 30.7% 3 PT FG.
THE LINEUPS
MICHIGAN STATE
6-0 guard Cassius Winston – 18.0 points, 7.3 assists per game
6-5 guard Matt McQuaid – 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Aaron Henry – 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds per game
6-6 forward Kenny Goins – 7.1 points, 9.6 rebounds per game
6-8 forward Nick Ward – 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds per game
IOWA
6-1 guard Jordan Bohannon – 11.2 points, 3.3 assists per game
6-5 guard Isaiah Moss – 10.0 points, 2.6 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Joe Wieskamp – 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds per game
6-9 forward Tyler Cook – 16.5 points, 8.2 rebounds per game
6-11 center Luka Garza – 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds per game
PLAYER TO WATCH – Cassius Winston – The Spartan point guard is playing as well as anyone in the Big Ten right now. He’s their leading scorer, but he’s more than that. He can dominate a game without having to make shots by finding his teammates and pushing the ball in transition. A good example of that is the first meeting with Iowa. He was only 2-9 from the floor, but he dished out 12 assists and had just one turnover. If you are going to beat Michigan State, you have to keep Winston in check.
KEY MATCHUP – Luka Garza vs. Nick Ward – The story of the first meeting was Ward and the Spartans dominating in the paint. Ward was a perfect 10-10 from the floor on his way to a 26 point and 9 rebound performance. Michigan State outscored Iowa 48-20 in the paint and that was largely the difference in the game. Meanwhile, Garza has his worst shooting game of the season. He was 1-10 from the floor and scored just 7 points in the loss. If Iowa can equal this one out on Thursday night, it will put Iowa in a better position to potentially pull off the upset.
STATS AND NOTES
Admission to the game on Thursday night is free for Iowa students and parking for the public is also free.
Iowa will be wearing their alternate gray uniforms on Thursday night. The Hawkeyes are 3-0 this year wearing those uniforms.
Fran McCaffery and his coaching staff will be wearing Nike sneakers for this game in support of and to raise awareness for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
Fran McCaffery has 167 wins as Iowa’s head coach and third on the win list for the Hawkeyes. McCaffery is one win from tying Lute Olsen on the all-time win list at Iowa.
KenPom.com has Michigan State rated 3rd in the country and Iowa at 24th. The new NCAA selection committee tool, NET, which has replaced the RPI, has Iowa rated 25th in the country and Michigan State rated 3rd. KenPom.com projects Michigan State winning 81-75 in this game.
The Hawkeyes return 90.5% of their minutes played last season, including their top nine scorers. That is the fourth most returning minutes in D1 basketball.
Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook were honorable mention All-Big Ten last season. Bohannon is one of three players from a major conference with more than 300 assists and 150 three pointers thru their sophomore season. He is the only player nationally in the past 25 years to have 150 assists and more than 80 three pointers in his freshman and sophomore season. Bohannon scored his 1,000th career point in the win over Ohio State. He now has 1,030 points, which is 47th on Iowa’s all-time list. He is 84 assists from becoming the 6th Hawkeye to score 1,000 points and dish out 500 assists.
Tyler Cook is the first Iowa player in 25 years to score 15 points and pull down 5 rebounds in ten straight games. Cook pulled down his 500th career rebound in the win over Illinois. He is now the 20th player in Iowa basketball history to have 1,100 points and 500 rebounds. Cook has now scored 1,118 points in his Iowa career, which is tied for 33rd in Iowa basketball history with Chris Kingsbury and Michael Payne.
Senior forward Nicholas Baer is the only player in program history to have 500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, make 100 three pointers, and 100 steals. Baer is now 9th all-time at Iowa with 106 career blocked shots.
Iowa is first the country in free throws made per game and in free throws attempted per game.
Freshman wing Joe Wieskamp led the Hawkeyes in scoring in the first game of his college career and posted his first career double-double against Pitt in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Wieskamp was named Big Ten freshman of the week after scoring 24 points against Illinois, including being a perfect 8-8 shooting in the game.
Iowa will have three players redshirting this year. True freshman guard C.J. Fredrick and sophomore forward Jack Nunge has opted to redshirt in the 2018-19 season. After returning to action against Iowa State, junior forward Cordell Pemsl decided to have surgery to remove hardware from his knee and will now redshirt.
Iowa is 3-1 this season in games played on a Thursday. Under Fran McCaffery, Iowa is 23-27 in games played on a Thursday. Iowa is 1-1 this season in games played on FS1. The Hawkeyes are 3-2 under Fran McCaffery in games on FS1.
THE PICK
You could argue that the two hottest teams in the Big Ten will be playing each other on Thursday night in Iowa City.
Michigan State is a perfect 8-0 in conference play and they have won 12 straight game overall. Heck, Sparty has won 20 straight Big Ten games dating back to last year, which is amazing. The Spartans haven’t lost since late November when they dropped a close game at Louisville. After a 0-3 start in Big Ten play, Iowa has reeled off five straight wins in league play. The Hawkeyes have won 10 of their last 11 contests with the only loss coming at Purdue.
Of course, we have to discuss the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and Spartans. It look place in East Lansing, which has been a house of horrors for the Iowa basketball program. Michigan State dominated Iowa, as they have many times, winning the game 90-68. They outscored Iowa 48-20 in the paint. As mentioned earlier, Nick Ward and Kenny Goins had their way down low and Iowa really struggled.
One interesting note, Michigan State guard Joshua Langford will miss Thursday’s game due to injury. He scored 14 points in the first meeting. It’s also worth noting that Matt McQuaid, who has been playing well for the Spartans, missed the first meeting with the Hawkeyes.
The Spartans are playing as well as just about anyone in the country right now. Maryland was playing very well heading into their game at Michigan State on Monday and lost by double figures. It’s pretty amazing that a team that lost two high NBA picks from last year’s team and didn’t add any really high profile recruits is playing better than they did last year. In a lot of ways, this team might fit into the classic Tom Izzo team. They grind you on the defensive end and Cassius Winston is as good as anyone in the country in transition. According to KenPom.com, only Virginia and Duke have better combined adjusted offensive and defensive numbers this year.
So, how does Iowa pull the upset? Yes, it would be an upset. Even though this game is in Iowa City and the Hawkeyes are a much improved team, the Spartans are going to be a decent favorite.
Surprisingly, turnovers weren’t a huge issue for the Hawkeyes in the first meeting. Iowa only turned it over 11 times. What the Hawkeyes didn’t do was shoot it well and they didn’t guard the paint. Iowa is coming off their best shooting game of the season against Illinois and from the Hawkeyes have the 10th best adjusted offensive efficiency in the country according to KenPom.com.
It will be important for the Hawkeyes to limit transition opportunities for Winston and pick up Ward, Goins, and Xavier Tilliman quickly when they post up. Iowa needs to also limit second chance possessions for Michigan State. Iowa only shot 27.3% from three. They have to get to somewhere around 35% and get close to double figures from beyond the arch. And the Hawkeyes need to once again get to the line 25-30 times and shoot 75% from the charity stripe.
The Hawkeyes are playing really well right now and it’s going to be close to a full house at Carver-Hawkeye on Thursday night. While I believe the Spartans will end up winning the Big Ten regular season title, I think Iowa’s on a roll right now and they win a tight one. IOWA 75 MSU 72
Tyler Cook and the Hawkeyes host the Spartans on Thursday night.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
MICHIGAN STATE (17-2, 8-0) at IOWA (16-3, 4-3)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: FS1 – Tim Brando and Bill Raftery on the call.
SERIES: The Spartans hold a 74-55 edge in the all-time series and Michigan State has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools. The Hawkeyes have a 35-25 advantage in games played in Iowa City. Iowa’s last win over Michigan State in Iowa City was back on December 29th, 2015 when the Spartans were ranked #1 in the country. Michigan State defeated Iowa 90-68 earlier this season in a game played in East Lansing.
THE LINE: Michigan State is a 5 point favorite.
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: MICHIGAN STATE– 83.8 PPG, 49.9% FG, 38.4% 3 PT FG, IOWA – 82.8 PPG, 47.9% FG, 37.3% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: MICHIGAN STATE– 66.1 PPG, 36.6% FG, 30.5% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 72.2 PPG, 43.4% FG, 30.7% 3 PT FG.
THE LINEUPS
MICHIGAN STATE
6-0 guard Cassius Winston – 18.0 points, 7.3 assists per game
6-5 guard Matt McQuaid – 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Aaron Henry – 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds per game
6-6 forward Kenny Goins – 7.1 points, 9.6 rebounds per game
6-8 forward Nick Ward – 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds per game
IOWA
6-1 guard Jordan Bohannon – 11.2 points, 3.3 assists per game
6-5 guard Isaiah Moss – 10.0 points, 2.6 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Joe Wieskamp – 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds per game
6-9 forward Tyler Cook – 16.5 points, 8.2 rebounds per game
6-11 center Luka Garza – 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds per game
PLAYER TO WATCH – Cassius Winston – The Spartan point guard is playing as well as anyone in the Big Ten right now. He’s their leading scorer, but he’s more than that. He can dominate a game without having to make shots by finding his teammates and pushing the ball in transition. A good example of that is the first meeting with Iowa. He was only 2-9 from the floor, but he dished out 12 assists and had just one turnover. If you are going to beat Michigan State, you have to keep Winston in check.
KEY MATCHUP – Luka Garza vs. Nick Ward – The story of the first meeting was Ward and the Spartans dominating in the paint. Ward was a perfect 10-10 from the floor on his way to a 26 point and 9 rebound performance. Michigan State outscored Iowa 48-20 in the paint and that was largely the difference in the game. Meanwhile, Garza has his worst shooting game of the season. He was 1-10 from the floor and scored just 7 points in the loss. If Iowa can equal this one out on Thursday night, it will put Iowa in a better position to potentially pull off the upset.
STATS AND NOTES
Admission to the game on Thursday night is free for Iowa students and parking for the public is also free.
Iowa will be wearing their alternate gray uniforms on Thursday night. The Hawkeyes are 3-0 this year wearing those uniforms.
Fran McCaffery and his coaching staff will be wearing Nike sneakers for this game in support of and to raise awareness for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
Fran McCaffery has 167 wins as Iowa’s head coach and third on the win list for the Hawkeyes. McCaffery is one win from tying Lute Olsen on the all-time win list at Iowa.
KenPom.com has Michigan State rated 3rd in the country and Iowa at 24th. The new NCAA selection committee tool, NET, which has replaced the RPI, has Iowa rated 25th in the country and Michigan State rated 3rd. KenPom.com projects Michigan State winning 81-75 in this game.
The Hawkeyes return 90.5% of their minutes played last season, including their top nine scorers. That is the fourth most returning minutes in D1 basketball.
Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook were honorable mention All-Big Ten last season. Bohannon is one of three players from a major conference with more than 300 assists and 150 three pointers thru their sophomore season. He is the only player nationally in the past 25 years to have 150 assists and more than 80 three pointers in his freshman and sophomore season. Bohannon scored his 1,000th career point in the win over Ohio State. He now has 1,030 points, which is 47th on Iowa’s all-time list. He is 84 assists from becoming the 6th Hawkeye to score 1,000 points and dish out 500 assists.
Tyler Cook is the first Iowa player in 25 years to score 15 points and pull down 5 rebounds in ten straight games. Cook pulled down his 500th career rebound in the win over Illinois. He is now the 20th player in Iowa basketball history to have 1,100 points and 500 rebounds. Cook has now scored 1,118 points in his Iowa career, which is tied for 33rd in Iowa basketball history with Chris Kingsbury and Michael Payne.
Senior forward Nicholas Baer is the only player in program history to have 500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, make 100 three pointers, and 100 steals. Baer is now 9th all-time at Iowa with 106 career blocked shots.
Iowa is first the country in free throws made per game and in free throws attempted per game.
Freshman wing Joe Wieskamp led the Hawkeyes in scoring in the first game of his college career and posted his first career double-double against Pitt in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Wieskamp was named Big Ten freshman of the week after scoring 24 points against Illinois, including being a perfect 8-8 shooting in the game.
Iowa will have three players redshirting this year. True freshman guard C.J. Fredrick and sophomore forward Jack Nunge has opted to redshirt in the 2018-19 season. After returning to action against Iowa State, junior forward Cordell Pemsl decided to have surgery to remove hardware from his knee and will now redshirt.
Iowa is 3-1 this season in games played on a Thursday. Under Fran McCaffery, Iowa is 23-27 in games played on a Thursday. Iowa is 1-1 this season in games played on FS1. The Hawkeyes are 3-2 under Fran McCaffery in games on FS1.
THE PICK
You could argue that the two hottest teams in the Big Ten will be playing each other on Thursday night in Iowa City.
Michigan State is a perfect 8-0 in conference play and they have won 12 straight game overall. Heck, Sparty has won 20 straight Big Ten games dating back to last year, which is amazing. The Spartans haven’t lost since late November when they dropped a close game at Louisville. After a 0-3 start in Big Ten play, Iowa has reeled off five straight wins in league play. The Hawkeyes have won 10 of their last 11 contests with the only loss coming at Purdue.
Of course, we have to discuss the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and Spartans. It look place in East Lansing, which has been a house of horrors for the Iowa basketball program. Michigan State dominated Iowa, as they have many times, winning the game 90-68. They outscored Iowa 48-20 in the paint. As mentioned earlier, Nick Ward and Kenny Goins had their way down low and Iowa really struggled.
One interesting note, Michigan State guard Joshua Langford will miss Thursday’s game due to injury. He scored 14 points in the first meeting. It’s also worth noting that Matt McQuaid, who has been playing well for the Spartans, missed the first meeting with the Hawkeyes.
The Spartans are playing as well as just about anyone in the country right now. Maryland was playing very well heading into their game at Michigan State on Monday and lost by double figures. It’s pretty amazing that a team that lost two high NBA picks from last year’s team and didn’t add any really high profile recruits is playing better than they did last year. In a lot of ways, this team might fit into the classic Tom Izzo team. They grind you on the defensive end and Cassius Winston is as good as anyone in the country in transition. According to KenPom.com, only Virginia and Duke have better combined adjusted offensive and defensive numbers this year.
So, how does Iowa pull the upset? Yes, it would be an upset. Even though this game is in Iowa City and the Hawkeyes are a much improved team, the Spartans are going to be a decent favorite.
Surprisingly, turnovers weren’t a huge issue for the Hawkeyes in the first meeting. Iowa only turned it over 11 times. What the Hawkeyes didn’t do was shoot it well and they didn’t guard the paint. Iowa is coming off their best shooting game of the season against Illinois and from the Hawkeyes have the 10th best adjusted offensive efficiency in the country according to KenPom.com.
It will be important for the Hawkeyes to limit transition opportunities for Winston and pick up Ward, Goins, and Xavier Tilliman quickly when they post up. Iowa needs to also limit second chance possessions for Michigan State. Iowa only shot 27.3% from three. They have to get to somewhere around 35% and get close to double figures from beyond the arch. And the Hawkeyes need to once again get to the line 25-30 times and shoot 75% from the charity stripe.
The Hawkeyes are playing really well right now and it’s going to be close to a full house at Carver-Hawkeye on Thursday night. While I believe the Spartans will end up winning the Big Ten regular season title, I think Iowa’s on a roll right now and they win a tight one. IOWA 75 MSU 72
