Iowa @ Michigan St. preview

Iowa at Michigan St

Last Meeting ( Feb 2, 2021 ) Michigan St 78, Iowa 84

There's something strange about Iowa's box scores over the last three games: Center Luka Garza hasn't led the Hawkeyes in scoring during that stretch.

Garza, considered a top candidate for national player of the year, has cooled off offensively.

The positive is that No. 15 Iowa's attack looks a little more diverse heading into its game Saturday against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.

Jack Nunge had a team-high 18 points in a loss to then-No. 7 Ohio State on Feb. 4.

The last two games, Joe Wieskamp has ramped up his production. He scored 18 points against Indiana on Sunday, then added a season-high 26 points as

Iowa (14-6 overall, 8-5 Big Ten) snapped a two-game losing streak Wednesday by defeating No. 25 Rutgers 79-66.

A three-year starter, Wieskamp averages 15.2 points and makes 47.4 percent of his 3-point attempts.

"I know that I'm a great shooter and I'm going to continue to shoot it," Wieskamp said. "Guys are finding me in good positions. Coach (Fran McCaffery) is running sets for me to get me the ball."

Wieskamp has also led the team in rebounding over the last three games with 28 in those contests. He had 10 against the Scarlet Knights.

"It was one of those complete performances," McCaffery said. "He made shots when we needed them, he rebounded, he defended and didn't make mistakes."

Garza hasn't reached his 25.3 point average in the last three games, though he scored 22 in the victory over Rutgers after being held under 20 points in the previous two games, both losses. Wieskamp has eased some of the scoring burden.

"He's consistent, locked in and does his thing," Garza said of Wieskamp. "In the first half when I missed some shots I felt I could make, he really picked us up."

Garza had a big game against the Spartans on Feb. 2, when he had 27 points and 12 rebounds in the Hawkeyes' 84-78 victory.

Aaron Henry led Michigan State that night with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and he's also been instrumental during its two-game winning streak. He had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a 66-56 win over Nebraska on Saturday, then scored a game-high 20 points in a 60-58 squeaker over Penn State on Tuesday.

Michigan State (10-7, 4-7) scored the last six points and held the Nittany Lions scoreless for nearly the game's final three minutes.

"I wanted to make sure that we understand this is winning time," Henry said. "This is where we have to take the next step as a team. This is where we have to grow. It is where we have to get better."

The Spartans are trying to climb back into the NCAA Tournament picture, and a victory on Saturday would enhance their resume. It will be an uphill battle throughout the remainder of the regular season, considering that five of their opponents are ranked.

Their crunch-time effort against Penn State encouraged coach Tom Izzo.

"We gutted it out at the end, we executed a few things offensively," he said. "We did grit our teeth and play pretty good defense. And we won it the old-fashioned way."

--Field Level Media