The first time Michigan State (17-2, 8-0 B1G) and Iowa (16-3, 5-3 B1G) squared off earlier this season, things went as well as they could for the Spartans and couldn’t have gone much worse for the Hawkeyes.
MSU hit on all cylinders offensively, being led by Nick Ward’s game-high 26 points en route to a 22-point beatdown in East Lansing. On the defensive end, the Spartans stymied the Hawkeyes, holding them to just 33 percent from the field, including limiting their go-to scorer Tyler Cook to 15 hard-earned points.
Flash forward nearly two months later and both teams are trending upwards.