No Tate, more students
That's what MSU can expect tonight from Iowa. The Spartans will gladly take the tradeoff, no doubt, considering what Cyrus Tate has done to them recently. Here's a look at Tate's ankle situation and here's a story on Iowa's push to fill its student section -- including the players visiting sorority houses to spark some interest. No joke.
On the MSU side of things, here's our look at this team's increasing pride in its road prowess. The Spartans have lost five of six here, so there's no shortage of incentive. And I've pasted my tipoff and prediction. I'll check back tonight from the arena when I get an Ubervirus Update on Raymar Morgan.
Spartan Tipoff: No. 9 MSU vs. Iowa
* Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
* When: 7 p.m. today
* TV/Radio: ESPN; Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM
* Records: MSU is 16-3 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten; Iowa is 12-8, 2-5.
* Series: MSU leads 58-52.
* Coaches: MSU -- Tom Izzo is 321-133 in his 14th season, all with the Spartans. Iowa – Todd Lickliter is 156-88 in his eighth season overall and 25-27 in his second with the Hawkeyes.
* Projected lineups
MSU
Pos. Name PPG
C (14) Goran Suton (6-10) 10.5
F (10) Delvon Roe (6-8) 5.2
F (2) Raymar Morgan (6-8) 13.5
G (5) Travis Walton (6-2) 6.2
G (1) Kalin Lucas (6-0) 14.4
Iowa
Pos. Name PPG
F (2) David Palmer (6-9) 5.3
F (24) Aaron Fuller (6-6) 4.3
G (5) Matt Gatens (6-5) 10.8
G (30) Jeff Peterson (6-0) 10.1
G (32) Jake Kelly (6-6) 9.8
* MSU update: Can the Spartans force a faster pace in this game and actually take advantage of their depth? That will be the challenge. MSU needs Morgan (viral infection) to be able to give 25-plus good minutes tonight to deal with Iowa’s offense, which involves a lot of perimeter-oriented players who drive, shoot and screen for each other. A stat to watch for MSU is turnovers, as usual. The Spartans are 11-0 this season when committing fewer than 15. The last time these teams played, a 66-52 MSU win in East Lansing, the Spartans turned it over just five times. MSU will not have to go against Iowa forward Cyrus Tate, who is out again. Tate has missed four straight with an ankle injury. He had 35 points and 16 rebounds in two games against the Spartans last season.
* Iowa update: Tate’s absence has been tough, and the Hawkeyes recently suffered a blow when freshman guard Anthony Tucker – the team’s second-leading scorer with 10.4 a game – was ruled academically ineligible. Still, this team is solid, definitely better than last season’s Hawkeyes. Last week, Iowa upset Wisconsin and had Penn State beat on the road before blowing it late. Iowa has just one home loss, a dramatic comeback from Minnesota on Jan. 8. Izzo equates Iowa’s style to a previous opponent, Bradley. Iowa goes slow and gets good shots for a host of competent shooters. Six Hawkeyes have at least 12 3-point baskets. Lickliter generally favors a packed-in man defense, so MSU will have to get back into running precise sets after seeing nothing but zone last week against Northwestern and Ohio State.
Matchups:
Backcourts: Kelly is a slick playmaker with length. Gatens is an extremely talented freshman who leads the Big Ten, shooting 51.5 percent from 3-point range. Peterson also can heave it. MSU will be switching heavily on all these guys, who try to break free via ball screens. The question on the other end is: Who does Iowa have who can guard Lucas or Morgan?
Edge: MSU
Frontcourts: Palmer has been the story of January for Iowa, stepping in for the injured Cyrus Tate and putting up huge numbers after barely player earlier in the season. He and Suton will be a nice battle. Fuller is technically the power forward, but he’s more of a perimeter guy. It will be interesting to see if Roe can keep up with him.
Edge: MSU
Benches: Devan Bawinkel, a former John Beilein recruit who transferred from West Virginia, is a dangerous shooter off the bench, with 26 3-pointers to his name. Forward Jarryd Cole and guard Jermain Davis are decent reserves. For MSU, Durrell Summers is coming off the game of his career so far, his 26-point outburst at Ohio State. Now the Spartans need Chris Allen to regain some confidence. And Marquise Gray’s energy would helpful be in this game.
Edge: MSU
* Prediction: The Spartans might not have much fun – that’s hard to do when you’re playing Iowa – but they’ll finally leave this building with a win.
* Make it: MSU 67, Iowa 60
-- Joe Rexrode
