It did not take long for Michigan State to take control of the Big Ten race. Through a series of upsets elsewhere around the league the Spartans are the last team without a loss in conference play, and tonight they host an upstart Iowa Hawkeyes team that has been behind a few of those upsets.
Iowa has been a strange team so far in a league where home-court advantage is paramount. The Hawkeyes have lost both of their home games to Purdue and Ohio State, but they have won both of their road games at Minnesota and, more surprisingly, Wisconsin. The Only Colors is taking no chances with Iowa:
So what weaknesses can the Spartans exploit? Iowa opponents are making 50.3% of their twos. I expect there to be room to score inside, and I hope MSU can do it often. While this year's Hawkeye team is better than last year's (yes, even though last year's beat MSU by 20+ once, but extenuating circumstances and what not), I think MSU will be ready to play after a week off. It'll be a typical Big Ten game -- fairly close in the first half, but the Spartans will use a couple of 6-0/7-0 runs to win.
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