Michigan State basketball: 3 keys to victory vs. Iowa

Michigan State basketball will face Iowa on Tuesday night for a chance to reach 10 Big Ten wins. Here’s how the Spartans do it.

Michigan State basketball finally has a new opponent on the schedule after playing many rematches the last couple weeks. Iowa comes to East Lansing on Tuesday for their one matchup this year as the Spartans look to extend their winning streak to four.

Here are my three keys for MSU which will help it get the win and keep its momentum rolling as March approaches.

1. Slowing down Iowa’s potent offense

Iowa once again has one of the best offenses in the country. The Hawkeyes are No. 14 in the country and No. 2 in the Big Ten, averaging 83.7 points per game. MSU can no doubt can outscore them, but I’d love to see the defense keep Iowa well under its average.

The Spartans did well on this front last year at home, holding the Hawkeyes to 61 points. But the return trip to Iowa was much different as Iowa scored 112 in an overtime win. Michigan State definitely needs a defensive performance like we saw at home last year instead of the game in Iowa.

2. Win the turnover battle

Winning the turnover battle is very important in any game, buts it’s even more important when the team you’re playing is really good in this department. Both Iowa and Michigan State are similar when it comes to turnover margin. MSU is No. 32 in the country at +3.0 and Iowa is No. 43 at +2.6.

One thing in the Spartans’ favor is how they’ve done recently against a really good team at not turning the ball over. Before the win over Penn State, the Nittany Lions were a top-10 team nationally in turnover margin. The Spartans went on to dominate the turnover battle that night, winning by four.

Michigan State will need a similar outcome in this game as well if it wants to win.

3. Consistency across the board

Consistency is something that needs to be improved on across the board the rest of the season. As a team, I still feel like we haven’t seen Michigan State basketball play a full 40 minutes this year. Considering how well the Spartans have been playing recently, I can only imagine how much better they will look if that put a full 40 minutes together.

MSU also needs more guys to play more consistently on a nightly basis. Tyson Walker has been consistent all year and Malik Hall has some newfound consistency, but MSU needs more guys at their best on a nightly basis. Guys like Jaden Akins or AJ Hoggard need to keep showing up every night. MSU also needs someone off the bench to step up more frequently, someone like Carson Cooper or Jaxon Kohler would be nice.

Can Michigan State get it done? The Breslin Center crowd will be rocking like usual for this matchup, and I have no doubt the Spartans can get the win in front of their fans.