Iowa players confident entering Big Ten Tournament

IOWA CITY - Michigan State and Iowa enter the Big Ten Tournament from different perspectives.

Michigan State (17-13, 9-9 Big Ten) was ranked No. 2 in the inaugural AP and coaches' preseason poll after a Final Four appearance last year - its sixth in the last 12 years. The seventh-seeded Spartans have many up-and-down moments this year, none more dramatic than their first two games against Iowa.

The Hawkeyes rolled Michigan State 72-52 in Iowa City, prompting Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo to proclaim, “that was the worst performance of a team that I've coached since I've been at Michigan State.” The Spartans rallied in East Lansing, beating Iowa 85-66.

Still, Michigan State's inconsistent play this season begs for many questions.

“To be honest you never know which Michigan State team is going to show up,” Iowa point guard Bryce Cartwright said. “That's how I look at it right now. Obviously they're more than capable.”

A tough pre-conference schedule coupled with a 9-9 Big Ten record could vault the Spartans into the NCAA Tournament even with a loss to Iowa. But it's a close call, much closer than the Spartans are used to based on their recent success.

“We realize there's a lot at stake in this Big Ten Tournament, and I think at least right now we're ready to get after it and see what we can get done,” Izzo said.

Iowa (11-19, 4-14) is staring at a fifth straight year without postseason play unless it can win four straight in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes upset No. 6 Purdue 67-65 last Saturday and despite losing by 19 at Michigan State just one week ago, the players are strangely optimistic entering this game.

“A very winnable game for us,” Cartwright said. “We beat them before they beat us.”

“It's kind of weird that we played them last week, and now we're about to play them again,” Iowa freshman forward Melsahn Basabe said. “Then if we win, we have to play Purdue. So we're about to repeat the week we just left.”

The first two Iowa-Michigan State games were as different as they were similar. Iowa crushed the Spartans right off the start in Iowa City, building first-half leads of 18-4, 30-8 and 41-20. The Hawkeyes forced nine first-half turnovers and scored 16 points off them. Iowa shot 65.5 from the floor in that half, while Michigan State was held under 30 percent.

At East Lansing, the teams battled virtually even for the first half before the Spartans exposed Iowa's transition defense in the second half. Michigan State hit nearly 55 percent from the floor in the game and 7 of 14 3-point attempts. Iowa played only eight players, and Michigan State's bench battered the Hawkeyes 42-12. Iowa also missed all 12 3-point attempts, ending a seven-year streak of hitting at least one 3-point shot in a game.

“A lot of our mistakes, I thought, were fatigue,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “From a technical standpoint, we didn't defend ball screens perfectly the whole game, and you have to with (Michigan State guard Kalin) Lucas.”

Based on Iowa's 10th seed and its recent Big Ten Tournament performances - four straight losses by a combined 62 points - it would be easy for teams to overlook Iowa. But that's not the case after Iowa's win against Purdue.

“It's probably better than being the team that people want to play,” Iowa junior guard Matt Gatens said. “Maybe we're getting a little bit more respect, which is good. Knocking off Purdue, that's what comes with it. Now it's being consistent with that.”