The Michigan State vs Iowa game is the second-biggest thing happening in East Lansing on Tuesday, but just because Pat Fitzgerald is dominating all the headlines doesn’t mean that Tom Izzo doesn’t deserve some attention of his own.
The Hall of Fame head coach was talked about during Fitzgerald’s press conference and the new football coach said that he’ll be in attendance at Tuesday night’s Big Ten opener.
That opener between the Spartans and the Hawkeyes will be one of the biggest college basketball games of the night, but it’s not even the headliner of the week for Michigan State. While Iowa is undefeated and presents a tough battle for the Spartans, Michigan State will be hosting a top-five Duke team on Saturday with the entire nation tuning in.
Before that, however, Ben McCollum will make his first trip to the Breslin Center as the head coach of the Hawkeyes, replacing Fran McCaffery this offseason. He has Iowa playing some really good ball.
Vegas doesn’t see the No. 7 team in the country blowing out an unranked Iowa squad, but what does it see happening on Tuesday night?
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Line: Michigan State -5.5
Over/Under: 132.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -238 | Iowa +195
It’s not all that surprising to see the line so close. The Spartans are only 5.5-point favorites despite being at home and having one of the best resumes in the country, and that’s because Iowa has one of the best scoring defenses in college basketball and has wins over Xavier, Ole Miss, and Grand Canyon. Iowa isn’t exactly a pushover despite being unranked.
Michigan State has to stay focused on the task at hand and it can’t get caught looking ahead to Duke.
I see the Spartans staying focused on Tuesday, holding the Hawkeyes to one of their worst shooting performances of the season because they haven’t seen a defense like Michigan State’s. Still, this one will be close throughout as the Spartans will allow Michigan State to hang around, but some big plays late by Jeremy Fears Jr. will ice the game and give this team its first Big Ten win of the year.
Prediction: Iowa 72, Michigan State 80