On Thursday, No. 19 Iowa basketball hosts No. 6 Michigan State for a 6 p.m. contest, and the program wants Carver-Hawkeye to be as packed as possible.

The University of Iowa announced it would give out 1,000 free tickets to U of I students. Public parking would be free of charge as well. On Wednesday, the athletic communications department announced that limited student tickets remain for the top-20 showdown in Carver-Hawkeye. Students can login online to claims their tickets at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.

“Us as players, we feed off the energy from the crowd,” Iowa forward Joe Wieskamp said. “When good things are happening, they’re excited. It gets us going for things on both ends of the court.

During their weekly media availability, the Hawkeyes stressed the importance of a packed Carver-Hawkeye, as a full house impacts the momentum in games like Thursday’s.

“It makes a huge difference,” forward Nicholas Baer said. “When Carver’s rocking, it’s one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball. For me, it’s been the most fun to play when it’s ecstatic like it’s been. I think when fans come and they’re very energetic, it makes a big difference for us as players. When we’re able to go on runs and fans are excited, it really plays a factor.”