After a couple of road victories, the Michigan State Spartans (17-9 overall, 9-6 in Big Ten play) return home to East Lansing on Tuesday to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-11 overall, 7-8 in conference play). This game will take place at the Breslin Center at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and will stream live on Peacock.

The Spartans are coming off of a 73-63 win over the rival Michigan Wolverines, while the Hawkeyes are coming off of their best victory of the season with an 88-86 overtime win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

Michigan State is looking to improve its seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament by stacking wins leading into March, while Iowa needs a few more signature wins to get its name into the NCAA Tournament conversation. There is a lot on the line for the Hawkeyes in this game, so the Spartans will surely get their best shot.

Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team

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

2 - Tyson Walker (6’0” Graduate Sr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Jr.), Coen Carr (6’5” Fr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" Fr.)

4 - Malik Hall (6’8” Graduate Sr.), Xavier Booker (6'11" Fr.)

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

Injured: Jeremy Fears Jr. (6'2" Fr.)

Rankings & Ratings: No. N/A, RV (AP), No. N/A, RV (Coaches), No. 20 (NET), No. 15 (Kenpom), No. 14 (Barttorvik)

Michigan State was able to complete the season sweep of Michigan this past weekend, thanks to a late 10-0 run to secure the victory. It was the Spartans' first win in Ann Arbor since the 2018-2019 season.

Against Michigan, graduate senior guard Tyson Walker scored 19 points, grabbed three rebounds, had three assists and had three steals. Meanwhile, graduate senior forward Malik Hall finished with 18 points, including 10 in the second half and four during the decisive run, and had four rebounds.

The Spartans received 23 points from its bench, with freshman forward Coen Carr scoring eight points, sophomore guard Tre Holloman chipping in six points and two assists, sophomore center Carson Cooper adding four points and seven rebounds and sophomore forward Jaxon Kohler finishing with three points and seven rebounds. The Spartans now have a three-game winning streak going into the game versus the Hawkeyes on Tuesday night.

Head coach Tom Izzo praised Iowa's offense and experience, and knows that the Hawkeyes are coming to East Lansing in need of a win.

Last year in Iowa City, Michigan State inexplicably blew a 13-point lead with 1:34 left to play, and ultimately lost to the Hawkeyes in overtime by a final score of 112-106. Earlier this week, senior point guard A.J. Hoggard said, "We didn't like the way the last one ended (against Iowa)." So, expect MSU to be extremely focused in this one.

Iowa: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - Tony Perkins (6'4" Sr.), Brock Harding (6'0" Fr.)

2 - Josh Dix (6'5" So.), Pryce Sandfort (6'6" Fr.)

3 - Payton Sandfort (6'7" Jr.)

4 - Ben Krikke (6'9" Sr.), Patrick McCaffery (6'9" Sr.)

5 - Owen Freeman (6'10" Fr.), Ladji Dembele (6'8" Fr.)

Injured:

Rankings & Ratings: No. N/A, RV (AP), No. N/A, RV (Coaches), No. 67 (NET), No. 57 (Kenpom), No. 61 (Barttorvik)

Like many Fran McCaffery-led Iowa teams, this Hawkeyes team is an offensive-centric and defense-optional type of squad.

Iowa scores 83.7 points per game (14th nationally) on 47.84% shooting (30th). The one area offensively that the Hawkeyes struggle in is from beyond the 3-point line, where they shoot just 33.6% (200th). Defensively, the Hawkeyes surrender 78.3 points per game (333rd) on 45.3% shooting (278th), including 34.9% from 3-point range (281st), with 33.9 rebounds per game (304th).

Point guard Tony Perkins makes the Hawkeyes go as he leads this Hawkeyes team in scoring at just over 15 points per game. Freshman center Owen Freeman is a skilled big man who has a wide array of moves offensively, while also having the ability to make an impact on the game on the defensive end. And as always, Payton Sandfort is a player that when he gets hot from deep, it's like shooting a basketball into an ocean for him.

The Hawkeyes really struggle on the road where their offense just can't seem to get going, but they always have the ability to put up points in bunches, so Michigan State's defense will have to be prepared.

The Hawkeyes, as recently as last year, have had many games where they can't seem to miss versus the Spartans, but Michigan State at home has been able to smother opponents defensively.

Iowa's offense could struggle in this one on the road, while on the defensive end of the floor the Hawkeyes will provide zero to little resistance. Iowa is coming off of a massive win versus Wisconsin, and one might say that momentum is on the Hawkeyes' side, but I look for Michigan State to come out engaged and jump all over Iowa from the start.

Prediction: Michigan State 85, Iowa 72

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