Iowa's Clemmons: 'We have to be ready for a fight' at Michigan State

IOWA CITY — Iowa's men's basketball team knows what to expect at the Breslin Center, and this year the Hawkeyes believe they're better prepared than the last 18 versions that went there before them.

No. 19 Iowa (12-3, 3-0 Big Ten) understands the home of Michigan State basketball ranks among the nation's most raucous arenas. More importantly, the No. 4 Spartans (15-1, 3-1) are the reason why Iowa has struggled in East Lansing every game since 1993. They're talented, tough and boast one of the Big Ten's greatest coaches in Tom Izzo.

'We have to be ready for a fight,' said Iowa senior Anthony Clemmons, a Lansing native and best friends with Spartans Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes.

Iowa's outings at the Breslin Center have ranged from deer-in-the-headlights to complete frustration. In the teams' last 14 games in East Lansing, Michigan State has won by an average score of 82-63. A few games were competitive, like their most recent meeting in 2014. Iowa led at halftime and stayed close for 30 minutes, but the Spartans hit the Hawkeyes with a 13-5 barrage that included three unanswered 3-pointers. Eventually, Michigan State led by 19 before Iowa closed with 10 at the end.

Of course in that losing streak was a 34-point disaster in 2012 where Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery slammed a chair during a timeout. In his final two games at Michigan State as Iowa's coach, Steve Alford lost by a combined 62 points. Even Tom Davis' last appearance on the Iowa sidelines ended with a 15-point defeat.

But that's just history for this group of players, and for McCaffery.

'I don't think you can put too much into, 'Hey, they have beaten you a certain amount of times,' because they are one of the premiere teams in the country,' McCaffery said. 'They beat everybody a certain amount of times. They win most of the times that they play.'

There are reasons for Iowa's struggles in East Lansing, and that starts with the Spartans' success. They've advanced to seven Final Fours under Izzo, who is one victory shy of tying Gene Keady for the second-most wins at a Big Ten school. They've had 15 NBA draft picks since 2000. Michigan State has won seven Big Ten regular-season titles under Izzo. Iowa hasn't won one since 1979.

Beyond previous talent disparities, intangibles have plagued the Hawkeyes. At times, they've failed to match the toughness required to compete with the Spartans, let alone beat them. When MSU mounted a run, Iowa often cowered to a series of mistakes.

'I think we've fell into that trap before in the past where they start to make their run and we start quick shooting the ball or have a few turnovers that lead to easy buckets for them,' Iowa point guard Mike Gesell said. 'I think our experience is going to have to really come out in this game and really keep our composure the whole game, kind of like we did at Purdue. I think we have the ability to do that.'

'It's mainly about keeping your poise,' Clemmons said. 'When you make a run on them, you can't get too excited like you won the game. Once you hit them, you've got to keep hitting them. Keep going after them because at any point in time, they're willing to amp up their defense, amp up their intensity. You see Izzo going crazy on the sideline, they feed off that. When that comes, you've got to be able to keep your poise, and you've got to be able to counter off of what they do.'

After losing nine straight in the series, Iowa finally knocked off then-No. 1 Michigan State two weeks ago, 83-70, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That stirred up a hornet's nest of rhetoric from Izzo, who said his team was 'punked' in the loss. He doubled down on his comments Tuesday.

'That to me was the most disappointing game I've played in in a couple of years,' Izzo said. 'Again, not with the loss, but with the way we played.'

The motivation is obvious for Michigan State, and Iowa players understand that.

'They have a lot built up,' Clemmons said. 'I wouldn't be shocked if Forbes didn't go out and try to go for 40. After the remark Izzo made as me being his friend and playing great defense on him, I wouldn't be surprised of that. To have Denzel back, I wouldn't be surprised if Denzel tells Forbes to go for 40. They're going to come after us.'

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