Women's basketball tipoff: No. 17 MSU at Iowa
What: No. 17 MSU at Iowa
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
Radio: WJIM 1240-AM
Coaches: MSU — Suzy Merchant is 397-212 in her 21st season overall and 196-92 in her ninth with the Spartans. Iowa - Lisa Bluder is 675-324 in her 32nd season overall and 319-182 in her 16th with the Hawkeyes.
Records: MSU is 18-5, 8-3 Big Ten. Iowa is 15-8, 5-6 Big Ten.
Series: Iowa leads 35-27. MSU posted an 80-73 win over the Hawkeyes in January.
MSU
C (4) Jasmine Hines (6-3) 10.2
F (45) Akyah Taylor (5-11) 5.7
F (23) Aerial Powers (6-0) 20.1
G (1) Tori Jankoska (5-8) 16.4
G (10) Branndais Agee (5-11) 11.7
IOWA
C (4) Chase Coley (6-3) 10.9
F (10) Megan Gustafson (6-3) 8.9
G (2) Ally Disterhoft (6-0) 16.8
G (11) Tania Davis (5-4) 7.8
G (15) Whitney Jennings (5-5) 9.3
MSU update: The Spartans complete a difficult stretch of four games in eight days Sunday in Iowa. MSU will be trying to bounce back from Friday's road setback at No. 5 Maryland, which halted what was a five-game winning streak. The setback dropped the Spartans two losses behind Big Ten co-leaders Maryland and Ohio State with seven league games remaining. MSU will get some help Monday with Maryland and Ohio State facing each other in Columbus, Ohio.
MSU women fall at No. 5 Maryland
Iowa update: The Hawkeyes have some work to do to solidify a spot in the NCAA tournament for a ninth straight season. Iowa dropped below .500 in the Big Ten on Thursday after blowing a 17-point lead in a road loss to Indiana. The loss ended a two-game win streak that featured wins over Michigan and Northwestern and was the fourth in six games for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is after its first victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Matchups
Backcourts: Agee has set career highs scoring in each of her last two games as she continues to add on to what's been a strong bounce back season after missing last year due to injury. Disterhoft stars out of the Iowa backcourt, but Davis and Jennings have been solid contributors for the Hawkeyes. Jennings had a career-high 22 points in the loss at Indiana on Thursday. Davis, the reigning Michigan Miss Basketball, led Iowa with 16 points in its loss to MSU last month and is one of two freshmen to work their way into the Hawkeyes' starting lineup. Edge: Even
Frontcourts: Powers fueled the Spartans' comeback win over the Hawkeyes last month, scoring 21 of her game-high 23 points in the second half of the victory. The reigning Big Ten player of the week has been on a tear the last couple weeks and scored at least 25 points in four consecutive games. That included a season-best 31 in Friday's loss at Maryland. Coley and Gustafson combined for just 13 points in the first meeting against the Spartans. Edge: MSU
Benches: MSU will likely need some help from its bench with it playing its third game in five days. Jenna Allen has been a reliable reserve throughout her freshman season and Green has been a change of pace point guard for the Spartans. Alexa Kastanek and Kali Peschel have each started a majority of the season for the Hawkeyes, but now are coming off the bench. Kastanek provides a scoring presence for Iowa and ranks third in scoring at 9.8 points. Edge: Even
Prediction: The Spartans are the more talented team, but the question is whether they will have enough in the tank to complete the grueling stretch with the win. The guess here is they will dig deep and conclude the stretch of four games in eight days with a third win.
Make it: MSU 73, Iowa 68
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.