The Big Ten men’s spotlight shines solely on Iowa City tonight where the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-14, 6-12) host the conference-leading Spartans of Michigan State (24-5, 15-3).
The Spartans can clinch sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title tonight with a win over the Hawkeyes. After stumbling to start February, Michigan State has won five in a row to clinch at least a tie atop the conference and in the process Head Coach Tom Izzo’s 11th regular season conference title.
Fran McCaffery’s Hawkeyes have lost two straight and four of their last five. In their two most recent losses, the offense has been an issue generating an average of just 59 points in each.
This is the first meeting of the season between these teams. They have split their last 10 games evenly.
Sparty is 7-2 on the road while Iowa is 12-5 at home this season.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Michigan State at Iowa
- Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025
- Time: 8:00PM EST
- Site: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- City: Iowa City, IA
- Network/Streaming: FS1
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Spartans at Hawkeyes
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Michigan State Spartans (-285), Iowa Hawkeyes (+225)
- Spread: Spartans -6.5
- Total: 151.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Michigan State at Iowa
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes Sparty: Iowa Team Total Under 72.5 (-110) and MSU -6.5 (-110)
“When Iowa is at home and against a Top 50 opponent, the Hawkeyes are 0-3 and scored 80, 81, and 63 points. Wisconsin held Iowa to 63 points, and I think Michigan State can do something similar. Iowa’s last three wins came against Washington, Rutgers, and Penn State spanning back to Jan. 24, so I don’t think there is upset potential here. Iowa beat MSU last year, 78-71 at East Lansing with a much better team. I think the Spartans return that favor with a cover and keeping Iowa under its Team Total of 72.5.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Spartans & Hawkeyes game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Michigan State Spartans on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Iowa Hawkeyes at +6.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the UNDER on the Game Total of 151.5.
Michigan State at Iowa: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Michigan State has won its last 3 road games, while Iowa has lost 7 of its last 9
- Michigan State’s last 5 road games have stayed under the Total
- Michigan State has gone 6-2-1 ATS on the road this season
- Iowa has covered the spread in their last 5 games against Michigan State
- Michigan State has covered the spread in their last 5 games and 6 of their last 7 this season (19-9-1 ATS for the season)
- The UNDER has cashed in Michigan State’s last 6 games and 9 of their last 10 overall
- Iowa is 0-4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
