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Thursday night will give us another really exciting Big Ten matchup between Iowa and No. 23 Wisconsin. It's time to continue our college basketball odds series with an Iowa-Wisconsin prediction and pick.
This matchup will consist of some of the top scorers in the nation. Iowa is led by sophomore Keegan Murray who averages 24.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. Wisconsin is led by sophomore Johny Davis who averages 22.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds to go along with it. Iowa is 11-3 on the year and their three losses came consecutively and two were against ranked opponents. They are fresh off of a win against Maryland last time out. As for Wisconsin, they are 11-2 and are coming off a huge win against No. 3 Purdue. Wisconsin has one other huge win as well against No. 12 Houston but lost to Providence and Ohio State for their only two losses.
Here are the Iowa-Wisconsin college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Iowa-Wisconsin Odds
Iowa: +3 (-115)
Wisconsin: -3 (-105)
Over: 146.5 (-110)
Under: 146.5 (-110)
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Why Iowa Could Cover The Spread
Iowa can cover this spread but it's not going to be an easy one. Murray is the go-to option with the ball and he will likely need to play well for them to cover. The Hawkeyes are 9-5 against the spread this season and so that is a good sign. They are one of the top offenses in the nation, averaging 87.4 points per game. They average 17 more points than Wisconsin does, so that will be something to pay attention to when choosing the side. As a team, they shoot 47.9% from the field which is also very good. Iowa has won four-straight games by scoring at least 90 points in three of them. If Iowa is going to cover, it's going to be by scoring a ton of points.
Why Wisconsin Could Cover The Spread
Wisconsin might be coming off the upset of the year so far in the NCAA. Nobody picked them to knock off No. 3 Purdue, but someone had to. Purdue used to be No. 1 until unranked Rutgers beat them, many would say that was the upset of the year. For Wisconsin to cover this spread, they will need to rely on Johny Davis and Brad Davison to lead the team. Davison averages 14.5 points per game and is the team's second-leading scorer. Wisconsin has a tough task on defense, as Iowa can score very easily. That will be the focus in this game, but Wisconsin's defense is better than Iowa. If they can keep it close, Wisconsin should pull away late in the game.
Final Iowa-Wisconsin Prediction & Pick
This is not an easy decision to make, and in fact, this might surprise you. I'm taking Iowa to cover the spread and potentially have a chance of beating Wisconsin. Wisconsin is flying high right now after beating Purdue, but this conference is stacked with talented teams. It could go either way but I'm going to take the team that is averaging just shy of 90 points per game. I would assume the over would hit as both teams can put up points, consider that as well.
Final Iowa-Wisconsin Prediction & Pick: Iowa +3 (-115) & over: 146.5 (-110)
