Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for Iowa battle in Week 5
1. Spartans win by double-digits
Beating a ranked team is all fine and dandy, but winning by double figures is even better. Michigan State will put that Louisville loss from a week ago out of memory and pick up their second-most impressive victory of the year behind that comeback win over Texas and slightly ahead of a 20-point triumph over UCLA.
Iowa isn’t going to be a cakewalk, though. The Spartans know that the Hawkeyes can put up some points and Tyler Cook is one of the most explosive and exciting players in the country, but the defense will step up, turnovers will be cut in half from the season average (single-digits once again) and the 3-pointers will be falling at a high rate.
Holding Iowa to under 70 points will be huge for this team’s confidence, especially if Matt McQuaid is unable to go again, and it will surely be enough to pull out a comfortable win, especially with how well the Spartan offense has played lately.
Michigan State fights a back-and-forth battle with the Hawkeyes early on before grabbing a six-point halftime lead and pushing it to 10 in the second half and holding firm. An 80-69 victory will be headed the Spartans’ way.