MBB Preview \\ No. 8 Michigan State \\ Senior Night

OPPONENT	No. 8 Michigan State (24-5, 15-3) at Iowa (15-14, 6-12)
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa
DATE	Thursday, March 6
TIP-OFF	7 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	FS1

 

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team returns to home to host No. 8 Michigan State on Thursday on Senior Night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and be televised on FS1.

FOLLOW LIVE
Radio: Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call.  The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and include portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.  The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
TV: Thursday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• • Iowa will host No. 8 Michigan State on Thursday for Senior Night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the regular-season home finale.  The Hawkeyes have won two straight and five of the last six over the Spartans.
• The Hawkeyes will honor five senior student-athletes (Even Brauns, Luc Laketa, Riley Mulvey, Payton Sandfort, Drew Thelwell) and four managers (Austin Holtz, Collin Rickertsen, Yuguang Yao, Jack Brandt) prior to the game.
• Iowa is hosting its third top 10 opponent this season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  
• Payton Sandfort surpassed 1,500 career points against Washington on Feb. 22 and is currently 14th in career scoring (1,535).
• In eight games in February, Sandfort is averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while Josh Dix is averaging 15.8 points on 47.1 percent shooting with 16 3-pointers.  Sophomore Pryce Sandfort is Iowa’s third-leading scorer, averaging nine points per game.
• Sandfort and Dix combined for 50 points against No. 7 Purdue on Feb. 4, 46 points in the Feb. 12 road win at Rutgers, 44 points in the two-point loss to Oregon on Feb. 19 and 42 points in the win over Washington.
• Iowa’s reserves scored 36 points in the win over Washington -- a season-high in a Big Ten game.
• Sandfort has 258 career 3-point field goals, four behind Jeff Horner for second place on Iowa’s all-time list.  He is the second Hawkeye all-time with 1,500+ points, 500 rebounds and 250 3s.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and is 20th nationally, averaging 82.2 points per game.  The Hawkeyes have the second-best field goal (.486) and effective field goal percentage (.563) in the league.
• Sandfort has scored 20+ eight times in the last 15 games, giving him a team-best 12 20+ point games this season.  
 • Iowa has shot better than 50 percent from the floor 12 times and better than 60 percent three times, including a season-best 62.7 percent in the win over New Orleans on Dec. 15.  The team is 10-2 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
• The Hawkeyes have made at least eight 3-point field goals in 23 games, including 10+ in 13 contests -- the most in a season since 2022-23. Iowa is second in the Big Ten (34th nationally), averaging 9.7 per game.  
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (18.3, 3rd in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82, 5th in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in nine games.  The Hawkeyes have had fewer than 10 turnovers in five of their last seven games.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans have won five straight games to improve to 24-5 overall.  Michigan State is leading the Big Ten Conference with a 15-3 league record.  
• Michigan State is 7-2 in true road games, winning its last three away from East Lansing.  
• The Spartans have 10 players averaging at least 4.9 points and 14.3 minutes per game.  Jaden Aikens paces the team, averaging 12.9 points with a team-high 42 3-pointers.  Jase Richardson is second on the squad at 11 points.
• Michigan State is leading the Big Ten and ranks fifth nationally with its reserves scoring 34.97 points per game.  The Spartans also play fast, averaging 16.76 fastbreak points -- fourth-most nationally.
• The Spartans average 40.21 rebounds per game and out-rebound their opponents by 9.6 per contest.
• Michigan State is first or second in the Big Ten in 13 different categories.  The Spartans allow 66.6 points per game and have the top field goal percentage defense (.399) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.282) in the league.

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday’s game is the 138th game in the all-time series between Iowa and Michigan State.  The Spartans lead 77-60.
• Iowa has won two straight and five of the last six meetings over Michigan State dating back to the 2020-21 season.  
• The Hawkeyes won in East Lansing last season, winning 78-71 behind 22 points from Payton Sandfort.  
• In the last meeting in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa trailed 91-78 with 1:34 remaining before catching fire from 3-point range.  The Hawkeyes made 6-of-9 3s in the final minute and a half in a 112-106 overtime victory.  
• Iowa has won the last three meetings and four of the last six in the series in Iowa City.

LAST GAME: NORTHWESTERN 68, IOWA 57

The Wildcats never trailed, handing the Hawkeyes a 68-57 loss on Feb. 28 in Evanston.  Northwestern limited Iowa to a season-low 57 points and 36.2 field goal percentage.
• Graduate Drew Thelwell paced the team in scoring with 14 points, making 5-of-7 field goals, including a season-high four 3-pointers.

IOWA IS...

• 6-0 when scoring 90+ points this season.
• 7-1 when winning the rebounding battle.
•12-1 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
• 10-3 when leading at the half.

MORE NOTABLES

• Head coach Fran McCaffery has the most victories in Iowa history with 295, including a record 142 Big Ten wins.  McCaffery won his 200th career game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 22 against Washington. 
• McCaffery has 546 career victories, making him one of 24 active head coaches with 500 career victories.
• Iowa rallied from nine down in the second half to beat Washington on Feb. 22. It was the team’s sixth comeback victory of the season.
• The Hawkeyes have had multiple 20-point scorers in seven games this season.
• Redshirt junior Carter Kingsbury played a career-high 28 minutes in the win over Washington on Feb. 22.  
• Senior Payton Sandfort has started 63 consecutive games dating back to the start of his junior season.
• The Hawkeyes are 12-5 at home this season and the program has won 96 of its last 103 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 35th nationally, averaging 13.55 fast-break points. 
• The Hawkeye reserves have outscored their counterparts in 16 games.  Iowa got 57 points from its reserves in the 112 point outburst against New Hampshire on Dec. 30.  
• Iowa has held 20 opponents under 50 percent shooting (and three under 40 percent), has forced at least 18 turnovers in six games and has held six opponents under 70 points.   The Hawkeyes are 98-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points over the past 14+ seasons.
• Iowa has had 10 games decided by single digits (4-6 record) and four games decided by a single possession (2-2 record).
• The Hawkeyes had a 62-point first half in the win over New Hampshire.  Iowa has scored 50+ 11 times in a half this season.  
• Iowa has had six players hit the 20-point mark in a game this season -- Payton Sandfort (12), Josh Dix (6), Owen Freeman (4), Drew Thelwell (2), Pryce Sandfort (1) and Brock Harding (1).
• Harding has 158 assists to 69 turnovers in 29 games His 5.4 assists per game are fourth in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.  He has had five or more assists in 19 games and 8+ in six contests.  
• Sandfort currently has an 89.2 career free throw percentage (255-of-286), which is the best mark in program history.  He made 18 straight free throws from Nov. 22-Dec. 21 and is fifth in the league with an 87.9 free throw percentage on the year.

PAYTON WATCH

Senior Payton Sandfort currently is 14th in program history with 1,535 career points, while ranking third in the record books with 258 career 3-point field goals.  He is four 3-point field goals shy of tying Jeff Horner for No. 2 in program history.
• He is 100 points shy of moving into the top 10 in program history in career scoring.
• With 32 points, Sandfort will become the 12th player in program history -- the first since Luka Garza -- to have back-to-back 500-point seasons.