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Michigan State's rebounding has Northern Iowa's women's team concerned.
It should.
In winning the Big Ten this year, the Spartans cleaned up on the boards with no one taller than 6-foot-1. And that's in a league where 6-5 and 6-4 post players are the norm.
But the Spartans didn't just rebound well, they dominated. They led the Big Ten with a rebound margin of 8.5.
So, yes, 13th-seeded Northern Iowa knows the problem as it heads into tonight's first-round game against No. 4-seed Michigan State in the women's NCAA Tournament at Intrust Bank Arena.
"We've actually talked a lot about rebounding," said Lizzie Boeck, UNI's 6-2 center.
And where has all the talk got them?
"We have a plan," Boeck said.
The Panthers will need one, particularly considering the Missouri Valley Conference champs finished dead even in rebounds with their opponents this season. And that's playing in a league where the trees don't grow nearly as tall as they do in the Big Ten.
"We're going to have to team rebound," UNI coach Tanya Warren said. "We're going to have to find a body and pursue the basketball. We can't just find a body and watch. And that's going to be a huge key in determining what happens in this game."
What the Spartans lack in size they make up for in quickness and aggressiveness.
"That's how we've got it done," senior guard Cetera Washington said. "People see we don't have any size and kind of wonder about us. But we surprise people."
MSU's rebounding starts with 6-1 Lykendra Johnson, who averages nearly 9 rebounds and led the Big Ten in offensive rebounds.
"She is a combination of speed and quickness and athleticism versus maybe power and strength," MSU coach Suzy Merchant said.
Johnson is hardly alone on the boards.
Washington, at 6-foot, is averaging more than six rebounds from her perimeter position. Big Ten player of the year Kalisha Keane, 6-1, is picking off five boards each game. Point guard Brittney Thomas, 5-10, is averaging three and 5-11 guard Tahor Alton isn't far behind.
And that's what really concerns Warren.
"It's not just their bigs that rebound; their guards rebound extremely well, too," she said.
Now, it's not like the Panthers are tip-toeing into this game.
They got their first taste of the tournament last year — OK, the taste was a little bitter after Nebraska threw them out hard, 83-44, in the first round — but they are brimming with confidence, riding a 19-game winning streak.
"We definitely feel a lot of momentum going into the tournament," UNI junior guard Katelin Oney said. "What went well for us is focusing on one game at a time, and now this is the next game."
What this game should bring is a barrage of three-pointers. Neither team is shy about lofting it from outside the arc. Combined they have put up 1,318 threes this season — 677 by UNI, 641 by the Spartans.
The Panthers are hitting almost 35 percent of those; Michigan State is a little over 32 percent.
But both teams say it's not a case of fire and fall back.
"I certainly hope not," MSU's Thomas said. "We take threes when they're open, but we always try to get paint touches and rebounding coverage. We do a lot of other things than shoot threes."
Right. Like rebound.
