The Michigan State men's basketball team is looking to get back to its winning ways coming off an 82-69 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. MSU will get a chance to do so on its home-court as the Spartans welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes into the Breslin Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will be aired on FS1.

Iowa (12-7 overall, 4-4 in the Big Ten) has won of four of its last five games, but the Hawkeyes are coming off of a loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road.

Both teams are currently middle of the pack in the Big Ten and are coming off losses, so the stakes in this game will be high as both squads want to restore their winning ways.

1 - A.J. Hoggard (6’4” Jr.), Tre Holloman (6’2” Fr.)

2 - Tyson Walker (6’0” Sr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” So.), Pierre Brooks II (6’5” So.)

4 - Joey Hauser (6’9” Sr.), Jason Whitens (6’6” Sr.)

5 - Mady Sissoko (6’9” Jr.), Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Fr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” Fr.)

Injured: Malik Hall (6’8” Sr.)

Rankings & Ratings: RV (AP), RV (Coaches), No. 40 (NET), No. 36 (Kenpom), No. 33 (Barttorvik)

Head coach Tom Izzo mentioned in his press conference earlier in the week that he wasn’t disappointed with his team on the rewatch of the Indiana game, and I think that one should agree with this sentiment. The Spartans ran into a team in Indiana that is playing some of its best basketball of the season and went up against a player in Trayce Jackson-Davis who has looked like a modern-day Tim Duncan during that recent stretch.

With that said, there are some things that the Spartans can improve on coming into this game versus Iowa. For starters, MSU will have a fully healthy Tyson Walker, who was not feeling the best the days leading up to the Indiana game with a stomach virus. It’s hard to make assumptions, but Walker seemed less aggressive in the last game (took seven shots compared to his average of 12.5), but with some more days of rest, look for Walker to get back to his normal ways.

Walker is not the only guard looking to have a bounce back game. Point guard A.J. Hoggard did not play up to his usual standards that he has all year. Some of this was contributed to early foul trouble, which affected not only Hoggard himself, but the whole team as well. With Hoggard being a leader of this basketball team, having him riddled with foul trouble has a negative impact on the entire team. The back-court should look to return to their form in this game, and once again set the tone for the Spartans.

In the front-court Joey Hauser will look to continue his consistent play coming off a big performance in a losing effort versus Indiana. There are also some rumors that Malik Hall may return in this game for some minutes as he heals from his foot injury. This would provide a much-needed boost to the front-court, which has been looking for a partner that can contribute with Joey Hauser. Izzo mentioned that he was hoping to have Hall practice in some capacity on Tuesday, however, Hall's status remains unclear for Thursday and beyond.

As of late, freshman centerJaxon Kohler has been the front-court player who has stepped up. Kohler seems to be getting better and better during this most recent stretch, and his minutes have gone up because of it. With a big game at Purdue coming up on Sunday, the Spartans must look to get a win on their home court against the offensively-gifted Iowa Hawkeyes.

1 - Ahron Ulis (6’3” Jr.), Dasonte Bowen (6’2” Fr.)

2 - Tony Perkins (6’4” Jr.), Josh Dix (6’5” Fr.)

3 - Connor McCaffery (6’6” Sr.), Payton Sandfort (6’7” So.)

4 - Kris Murray (6’8” Jr.)

5 - Filip Rebraca (6’9” Sr.)

Injured: Patrick McCaffery (6’9” Jr.)

Rankings & Ratings: N/A (AP), N/A (Coaches), No. 38 (NET), No. 35 (Kenpom), No. 49 (Barttorvik)

In typical Iowa fashion, head coach Fran McCaffery has himself another offensive juggernaut centered around an All-American level talent, with that talent this year being forward Kris Murray. Like his brother Keegan did a year ago, Kris has been putting up some monster numbers scoring 21 points, nine rebounds, and two assists per game. He is also putting up great shooting percentages as well (51% from the field).

Murray, as always, will be at the top of the scouting report and be the focus of the defense, but Iowa does have other pieces who are no slouches. Senior center Filip Rebraca has emerged in his second year in the Iowa program after transferring in from North Dakota. Rebraca is a physical post presence who likes to mix things up and does all the dirty work for the Hawkeyes. He has really stepped up in the absence of junior Patrick McCaffery, although, it is possible that Patrick McCaffery returns for this game.

While Rebraca does all the dirty work in the front-court, junior guard Tony Perkins does all the dirty work in the backcourt. Perkins loves to get his nose in the mix and is as competitive as they come.

Off the bench, the Hawkeyes have a sniper who is finding his stride as of late in Payton Sandfort. The sophomore guard/forward had a very rough start to the year from 3-point range but when he gets hot, he can fill it up in a hurry (just ask the Michigan Wolverines).

With Connor McCaffery being the glue that holds this team together, this Iowa team is once again a very well-oiled machine that can score with anyone in the country. But the question remains, will the Hawkeyes be able to get enough stops to win?

This game being at the Breslin Center is huge for Michigan State as its hold an 8-2 record at home this season. Hoggard and Walker should be able to get wherever they want on the floor, and score or create for others against an Iowa defense that ranks in the 150s in defensive efficiency according to Kenpom.

Even though the Hawkeyes are amongst the best in the country offensively, the Spartans will be able to dig in defensively and feed off the home crowd energy to get the stops needed to win this game.

Also, look for the MSU front-court to try and take advantage of the fact that Iowa’s only true post presence is Rebraca, who is a good center, but is not as physically-imposing as the centers the Spartans have played as of late.

Michigan State 76, Iowa 68