Michigan State vs Iowa College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/13/21

The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans meet in college basketball action from the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will look to build on a 79-66 win over Indiana in their last matchup. Luka Garza leads Iowa in scoring and rebounding with 25.3 PPG and 8.5 RPG while Joe Wieskamp is 2nd in scoring and rebounding with 15.2 PPG and 6.7 RPG and Jordan Bohannon has 10.2 PPG with a team-high 4.6 APG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Iowa up to this point in the season. As a team, Iowa is averaging 87.4 PPG on 47.5% shooting from the field, 38.9% from 3-point range and 72.6% from the foul line while allowing 74.3 PPG on 42% shooting from the field and 34.9% from 3-point range this season.

The Michigan State Spartans will be out to build off of back-to-back wins following a 60-58 win over Penn State last time out. Aaron Henry leads Michigan State in scoring and assists with 14.4 PPG and 3.6 APG to go along with 5.6 RPG while Joey Hauser has 10.5 PPG with a team-high 6.8 RPG to make up the duo of double-digit scorers for Michigan State so far this season. Joshua Langford has 9.6 PPG and Rocket Watts has 8.4 PPG with 3 APG this season. As a team, Michigan State’s averaging 71.5 PPG on 42.5% shooting from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 75% from the foul line while allowing 70.8 PPG on 41.8% shooting from the field and 30.9% from 3-point range this season.

Iowa is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games while the over is 17-5 in their last 22 games following a win. Michigan State is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games and 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games overall while the under is 45-22-3 in their last 60 games following a win.

I get Iowa being favored on the road here and I agree with it. However, both teams are struggling right now, and while Michigan State’s been horrendous ATS this season, the fact is that while both could use the win, Iowa’s firmly in the tournament right now while Michigan State (and I’d never thought I’d have to say this about a Tom Izzo coached Michigan State team) still may need to make a case to the tournament committee for an at-large bid should they not win the Big Ten tournament in a few weeks. Plus, even in a down year, it’s rare that you get this many points with Michigan State at home. I’ll take my chances with Sparty and the points in this one.