NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 20: Mike Gesell #10 and teammates of the Iowa Hawkeyes walk off of the court after their 68 to 87 loss to the Villanova Wildcats during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 20, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The No. 4 Michigan State Spartans visit the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night, and here are some facts and stats to know before the Big Ten matchup.
Michigan State (22-3, 10-2 Big Ten) and Iowa (12-13, 3-9 Big Ten) met one year ago in East Lansing, and the Spartans won 77-66. MSU out-rebounded Iowa 45-32, turning 14 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points.
The Hawkeyes have recovered after opening Big Ten play 0-5 and losing six of their first seven conference games. Iowa defeated both Wisconsin and Minnesota at home, but was destroyed by Penn State 82-58 on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the victory over Minnesota was the 400th for coach Fran McCaffrey, who is in his eighth season at Iowa and 22nd overall. He is 3-10 against MSU but has won two of the last three against the Spartans.
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Tyler Cook leads the Hawkeyes in shooting with 15.3 points and is shooting 50 percent from the floor. He averages six rebounds a game. Jordan Bohannon (13.6), Luke Garza (11.1) and Isaiah Moss (10.9) also are scoring in double figures.
The Spartans are off to their strongest start since their Final Four run in 2000-01, when they began the season 24-3.
Michigan State improved to 4-1 on the road this season after winning its third straight away game, a 63-60 escape Saturday night at Indiana. The Spartans nearly blew a 10-point lead in the final 12 minutes, but the Hoosiers missed two free throws in the dying seconds and a desperate 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Coach Tom Izzo is 566-223 in his 23rd season with the Spartans. MSU leads the NCAA with 204 blocks, a single-season record. The Spartans, who are third in the Big Ten, lead the all-time series against the Hawkeyes (12th in Big Ten) 72-55.
Michigan State vs. Iowa:
Date: February 6, 2018
Time: 9 pm EST
Place: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City,
TV: ESPN
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 20: Mike Gesell #10 and teammates of the Iowa Hawkeyes walk off of the court after their 68 to 87 loss to the Villanova Wildcats during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 20, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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