Two teams ranked in the top 20 tip off from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Ames, Iowa on Thursday when the No. 6 ranked Michigan Spartans visit the No. 19 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes for a Big Ten showdown. Michigan State used a balanced offense combined with a suffocating defense to beat Maryland on Monday 69-55. Cassius Winston and Kenny Goins each scored 14 points in the win.
Iowa improved to 16-3 following its 95-71 romp over Illinois on Sunday. Joe Wieskamp led the Hawkeyes with 24 points, while Isaiah Moss scored 21 and Luke Garza chipped in with 20. The Hawkeyes hit 34 of their 50 field goal attempts. Iowa has now won five straight and moved to 5-3 in Big Ten play.
Cassius Winston leads the Spartans in scoring and assists with averages of 18.0 points and 7.3 assists per game. The leading rebounder is Kenny Goins with an average of 9.6 per game. Nick Ward is the second leading scorer with an average of 15.7 points per game. The Spartans are shooting 49.9% from the field and 38.3% from 3-point territory.
Tyler Cook leads Iowa in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Luka Garza is the second leading scorer with an average of 13.9 points per game. Jordan Bohannon leads the Hawkeyes in assists with an average of 3.3 per game. Iowa is shooting 47.9% from the field and 37.61% from 3-point territory.