Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for road battle at No. 19 Iowa

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 03: AAron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 03: AAron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 21: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins battle for position against Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartansvin the second half at Breslin Center on January 21, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 21: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins battle for position against Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartansvin the second half at Breslin Center on January 21, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

3. Nick Ward will bounce back in a big way

Coming off arguably the worst game of his career, Nick Ward has to be hungry. He was offered the day off by the coaching staff on Tuesday following the Maryland game because Tom Izzo noticed he was a step slow all night, but he declined, showing how much he has grown since last season.

That type of hunger to get better will only benefit the junior big man against the Hawkeyes and he’s going to have just as good a game as he had the first time around versus Iowa, scoring 26 points with nine boards.

You have no idea how much scoring zero points and playing just 14 minutes can motivate a player to get better, especially an improved all-around star like Ward. He’s going to make the Maryland performance seem like a distant memory as he’ll score 21 points with 10 rebounds, putting the team on his back.

Ward and Tyler Cook will have a heck of a battle, but the former will win this one and he’s going to do a much better job of posting up deeper in the paint and running in the fast break.

We are going to see the motivation from Ward that we didn’t see much last season.

Home/Spartans Basketball