In a rare turn of events, the #18 Iowa Hawkeyes (19-8, 10-6) head to East Lansing to face the #24 Michigan State Spartans (18-9, 10-6) as the more highly ranked team. The last time this happened, it was the 2006 Big Ten Tournament and Iowa won a barnburner, 53-48.
After coming into the season as the top-ranked team in the country, Michigan State has faced more than their share of adversity throughout the season and come into the matchup having lost four of their last six games. According to KenPom ($), they’ve amassed their 10-6 record against the weakest conference slate in the Big Ten (Iowa’s is the third weakest).