Coming off of a stretch of playing four straight ranked opponents, Michigan State travels to Iowa City, to face a Hawkeye team whose season has been a major disappointment.

Iowa currently sits at 16th in the Big Ten standing and is at risk of missing out not only on the NCAA Tournament, but the Big Ten Tournament as well (the top 15 teams make the tournament).

This game will take place at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City and will be televised live on FS1 at 8:00pm Eastern time. With a victory against Iowa, Michigan State will claim an outright Big Ten Championship. The Spartans have already earned at least a shared title, with Michigan falling to 14-5 in Big Ten play with a loss to Maryland on Wednesday.

1 - Jeremy Fears Jr. (6’2” RS Fr.)

2 - Jase Richardson (6'3" Fr.), Tre Holloman (6’2” Jr.), Kur Teng (6'4" Fr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Sr.), Frankie Fidler (6’7” Sr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" RS Fr.)

4 - Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Jr.), Coen Carr (6’5” So.), Xavier Booker (6'11" So.)

5 - Szymon Zapala (7'0" Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jesse McCulloch (6''10" Fr., expected to redshirt)

1 - Drew Thelwell (6'3" Sr.), Brock Harding (6'0" So.)

2 - Josh Dix (6'6" Jr.), Carter Kingsbury (6'5" So.)

3 - Payton Sandfort (6'8" Sr.), Pryce Sandfort (6'7" So.)

4. Ladji Dembele (6'8" So.), Even Brauns (6'9 Sr.)

5. Seydou Traore (6'7" So.), Riley Mulvey (6'11" Jr.)

What might have seemed like the least exciting game down the stretch for Michigan State originally, now has found significance as the Spartans have a chance to clinch an outright Big Ten Championship with a victory on Thursday night.

Iowa has had a very disappointing season that has been derailed by injuries and poor performances. They are led by senior forward Payton Sandfort who averages 16.1 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. Despite their struggles, Iowa still boasts an offense ranked 31st in adjusted efficiency according to Bart Torvik. However, the achilles heel for the Hawkeyes has been their defense which is ranked 175th in adjusted efficiency and 340th in opponent effective field goal percentage.

Regardless of the defensive woes, Iowa's offense can put up points, and do so quickly, if they are not taken seriously. With a loss, Iowa will also miss out on participating in the Big Ten Tournament, so look out for a motivated Hawkeye squad attempting to steal one from the Spartans.

For Michigan State, this has the chance to be a game where the Spartans are caught looking ahead to the season finale versus Michigan. However, knowing an outright championship is at stake, expect the Spartans to be motivated to take care of business on Thursday night.

While Iowa's offense needs to be taken seriously, there are areas where Michigan State can look to exploit in order to come away with a victory. Iowa comes into this game as one of the worst rebounding teams in the entire country. For Michigan State, they are one of the top rebounding teams and should be able to take advantage of Iowa's lack of size. Limiting opportunities for Iowa, while creating more for themselves is perhaps the Spartans easiest path to victory.

All season long, Michigan State has buried teams because of the depth they possess. Freshman guard Jase Richardson and senior forward Frankie Fidler have been being aggressive at getting the ball to the rim and have been major catalysts in Michigan State's current win streak.

Iowa is 343rd in the country when it comes to defending the two and the Michigan State wings, should be able to get to the basket on a consistent basis on Thursday. This in turn will likely lead to more free throw opportunities for the Spartans who hope to wear down a Hawkeye team that doesn't possess much depth.

While Iowa might be motivated to win this game and possess an offense that is capable of scoring points, the Spartans' elite defense and offensive depth will prove to be too much for the Hawkeye team that has yet to win a game versus a ranked or Quad 1 opponent all season.

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