Michigan State basketball: Series history vs. Iowa

Michigan State basketball leads the all-time series against Iowa and is looking to exact revenge for last year’s loss.

The Spartans have another quick turnaround after their 73-63 win over Michigan. Michigan State basketball now heads home to take on Iowa in its first of two straight home games. MSU has won eight of its last 10 games and is trending in the right direction, so the Spartans will look to keep the good vibes rolling against the Hawkeyes.

Before the game tips off, let’s take a look at the series history between these two programs.

Spartans have a comfortable lead over Hawkeyes

Tuesday will mark the 133rd matchup between these teams, and Michigan State holds a 75-57 lead all time. This includes a loss in the most recent matchup, a game I think all Spartan fans wish to forget.

The last meeting saw Michigan State lose at Iowa in overtime 112-106. This game still makes me sick as MSU had a 13-point lead with less than two minutes to play. That’s when Iowa went nuclear from 3-point range and somehow forced overtime.

MSU however did beat Iowa in the first matchup last year, a 63-61 win at the Breslin Center. Jaden Akins led the way for MSU with 12 points and Joey Hauser and AJ Hoggard each added 11 of their own.

The Spartans are 6-4 in the last 10 matchups overall with Iowa including a 4-1 record in the last five meetings in East Lansing.

Iowa season update

The Hawkeyes are having a pretty average year so far this season. They come into this game with a 15-11 record and a 7-8 Big Ten record. Like most Big Ten teams, the road has not been friendly to Iowa this season as they are just 2-7 in true road games.

Iowa is lacking a quality win on their resume, with their best win coming in their last game against Wisconsin. Iowa scraped by with an 88-86 win over the Badgers, something that MSU failed to do twice. Wisconsin, however, has lost five of its last six, so this isn’t a great win like you might think.

The Hawkeyes also have a brutal home loss this season to Michigan. The Wolverines have surprised some teams this year, but they are in last place in the conference for a reason. Other than that, Iowa has beaten a lot of the teams they should beat, especially the lowly non-conference teams earlier this season.

This is a game that Michigan State should win. The Spartans have been hot recently, and have been excellent most of the season at home as well. They need to continue to defend home court and add another win to their resume as they make their strong push to the finish line.