Iowa Men’s Basketball Beats Michigan State for the 2nd Time This Season

It’s safe to say that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo hopes his Spartans don’t have to face Iowa in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament in March. The 16th ranked Hawkeyes convincingly beat fourth ranked Michigan State in East Lansing on January 14th 76-59. On December 29th, Iowa beat then #1 Michigan State 80-73 in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes are now 13-3, and have won 10 of their last 11, with only a one point loss to then #4 Iowa State on December 11th marring their record. Just like Iowa’s football team, the basketball Hawkeyes have operated below the radar, and were considered a middle of the pack team in the Big Ten. You can bet the rest of the Big Ten is changing their opinions.

We should have an even better idea of the Hawkeyes’ ability by the time the month is over. Iowa hosts a pretty good Michigan (13-4) team on January 17th. The Hawkeyes play at Rutgers (6-12) on January 21st, then host #24 Purdue (15-3) on the 24th. They will be at #3 Maryland (15-2) on January 28th.