Michigan State basketball: Getting to know the Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa comes to East Lansing on Tuesday night for an important late-season showdown with Michigan State basketball.

The vibes surrounding this Michigan State basketball team are at an all-time high right now. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games, including capping off a season sweep of rival Michigan on Saturday with a 73-63 win. MSU will look to keep its momentum going as it welcomes Iowa to East Lansing on Tuesday evening.

Before the game, let’s take a quick look at Iowa’s season and get to know them a little better.

Iowa season in review

The Iowa Hawkeyes have left a lot to be desired this season. Iowa comes into this matchup 15-11 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten play. One positive for them this year is that they’ve beat most of the teams you would expect them to beat. However, they have failed to get that marquee win on their resume.

The one bad loss for Iowa this season came at home against Michigan. This game was early in the season before we knew just how bad Michigan was, but this loss still looks horrible on the Hawkeyes’ resume. Their best win also doesn’t look so great anymore either. Iowa has an 88-86 win against Wisconsin which looks really strong at first glance. But this win happened over the weekend and was the Badgers fifth loss in six games. Wisconsin clearly isn’t the same team it was earlier this year, so this isn’t that great of a win anymore.

Key players to watch

As is with Iowa most years, they are one of the best scoring teams in the country. They are No. 14 in the country and No. 2 in the Big Ten at 83.7 points per game.

Iowa doesn’t have one dominant scorer this year, but they do have many guys that can hurt you fast. Leading the way for the Hawkeyes is Tony Perkins at 15.5 points per game. He is also their leader in assists as well with 4.2 per game. Junior Payton Sandfort is another name to keep an eye on as he averages 15.2 points per game. He has been hot recently as well, scoring at least 18 points in three straight games now.

Unsurprisingly, Iowa is also a dangerous team from 3-point range. Of their players that play significant minutes, four shoot at least 35 percent from deep. Josh Dix leads the way from beyond the arc at 43.1%. He however is not as effective on the road as he is just 27.8% from deep in road games.

Can Michigan State keep the momentum going and get another win? This is another game that won’t help their resume a ton, but a loss would really hurt it. The Spartans will have to be ready for a battle as this Iowa team has given them fits in recent years. But with the home crowd on their side, I fully expect the Spartans to get the job done.