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Iowa-Michigan State men’s basketball glance: TV/time/more (Dec. 2, 2025)
Head coach Ben McCollum is the fourth coach in Hawkeye program history to start his tenure 7-0.
Dec. 2, 2025 11:25 am, Updated: Dec. 2, 2025 11:54 am
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What: Iowa men’s basketball (7-0) at No. 7 Michigan State (7-0)
When/Where: Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. CT at Breslin Center in Eas Lansing, Mich.
TV: Peacock ($) (Paul Burmeister, pxp, Nick Bahe, color)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, pxp, Bobby Hansen, color)
Series: 78-60, Michigan State. Iowa has won five of the last seven matchups.
Iowa’s next game: vs. Maryland at 3 p.m. CT at Hawkeye-Carver Arena
What to know: It’s Iowa head coach Ben McCollum’s Big Ten debut, and the first time he’ll coach against a Big Ten program in his career.
“If you're going to start the league off, why not go to the champs?,” McCollum said in his press conference Monday morning. “I don't see why you wouldn't want to just go straight to it. We're getting straight to the action.”
This is first time Iowa and Michigan State have faced off in a Big Ten opener since the 2015-16 season, when Iowa won 83-70.
The Hawkeyes won the Acrisure Classic last week, defeating Ole Miss and Grand Canyon, with Bennett Stirtz winning the tournament MVP. Stirtz averaged 21 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the tournament, bringing his season average to 18.6 points per game with 38 assists and 18 steals.
Iowa also ranked eigth in the nation in field goal percentage (.531) and is shooting 63-percent with two-pointers. The Hawkeyes received 99 points in this week’s AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.
Michigan State’s taken down three ranked opponents so far this year, including a double-digit win over No. 12 Kentucky in New York City. The Spartans have four players in double figures to start this year: Jaxon Kohler (14.6 ppg), Jeremy Fears Jr. (12 ppg), Coen Carr (10.7 ppg) and Carson Cooper (10.6 ppg).
The Spartans ranked 11th in scoring defense, allowing 61.6 points per game, and generate over 40 rebounds per game — good for 35th in the country. Iowa is seventh nationally for scoring defense and averages 31.4 rebounds per game.
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