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Michigan State Basketball: 3 bold predictions for Spartans at No. 8 Iowa

By Connor Muldowney

Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; (Left to right) Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) guard Foster Loyer (3) forward Aaron Henry (0) forward Joey Hauser (20) and forward Thomas Kithier (15) talk in a huddle during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; (Left to right) Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) guard Foster Loyer (3) forward Aaron Henry (0) forward Joey Hauser (20) and forward Thomas Kithier (15) talk in a huddle during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball travels to Iowa on Tuesday night for a game that will require a perfect performance from the Spartans in order to win.

Grueling doesn’t even begin to describe a typical Big Ten conference schedule but Michigan State’s last few outings have been an absolute gauntlet.

The Spartans hosted Purdue and lost by one at the buzzer and then went to Rutgers and lost by 30. They then went to Ohio State and got dropped by 17 and they didn’t even make a trip back to East Lansing, they went straight to Iowa City where they’ll face the No. 8 Hawkeyes.

No one is giving Michigan State a shot against the eighth-best team in the country and arguably the first or second-best team in the Big Ten, but Tom Izzo knows it’s do-or-die time.

Will the Spartans pull off the upset of the season?

3. Marcus Bingham Jr. blocks four shots

Three times this season, Marcus Bingham Jr. has recorded at least three blocks and that’s impressive given the fact that the junior big man has played at 10-plus minutes just eight times. When he’s given a real shot, he is productive on that end of the floor.

And with Luka Garza awaiting the Spartans on Tuesday night, Bingham Jr. will need to play big minutes as he’s the team’s top defensive option in the post.

We saw what Bingham Jr. could do against an elite Big Ten big man when Purdue came to town a few weeks ago and he recorded three blocks and four rebounds in 10 minutes while Trevion Williams scored just two first-half points. But the problem there was that Bingham Jr. only played 10 minutes.

I’m predicting at least 15 minutes for the big man and he’ll finish with four blocks for the third time this season and first time in Big Ten play.

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