The Indiana Hoosiers take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Indiana Iowa prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Indiana Iowa.
The Indiana Hoosiers looked like a Big Ten title contender early in the season. Trayce Jackson-Davis, their high-impact big man, was making things happen, but the role players were also performing well, especially on defense. Indiana's ACC-Big Ten Challenge victory over North Carolina looked like a really strong performance at the time, especially when you realize that North Carolina was the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Though it is true that North Carolina hasn't looked very good this season, there was a line of thought that after the first three weeks of the season, the Tar Heels were going to get better and evolve, finding the form they displayed in their big March run. Yet, Indiana's performances in the first month of the season really did not carry over into the middle of December. Indiana lost by 14 points to Arizona and by 22 to Kansas. The Hoosiers did not look like a team which belonged on the same floor as the Wildcats and Jayhawks. The Hoosiers have played two cupcake games since then. They now return to the grind of Big Ten basketball uncertain about how high their ceiling is. They are not sure of what they can realistically achieve this season. It's not where they thought they would be at the start of December.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Indiana-Iowa College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Indiana-Iowa Odds
Indiana Hoosiers: +1.5 (-110)
Iowa Hawkeyes: -1.5 (-110)
Over: 152.5 (-115)
Under: 152.5 (-105)
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Why Indiana Could Cover the Spread
This is a team which got shredded by Arizona and Kansas. Guess what? Those are two really good teams. Arizona and Kansas are both in line to get a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Getting blown out, as opposed to being robustly competitive, obviously isn't a good look for Indiana, but the quality of competition is certainly something which has to be kept in mind. Against clearly inferior teams, Indiana has been very good. Indiana's defense has been strong against weaker opponents.
Iowa is a weaker opponent.
The Hawkeyes scored just 50 points in a humiliating loss to Nebraska, a team Indiana handled relatively easily. Iowa is in freefall right now, having lost three straight games to Eastern Illinois (as a 31.5-point favorite), Nebraska, and Penn State. Of those three teams, only Penn State has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament, and the Nittany Lions are far from a lock. Iowa has fallen off a cliff. For all of Indiana's problems, Iowa's problems are clearly much worse.
Why Iowa Could Cover the Spread
The Hawkeyes absolutely have to win this game to have a realistic shot at making the NCAA Tournament. This team is 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes can't fall to 0-4 in their conference and harbor realistic aspirations of going to the NCAAs. The Big Ten is a tough and deep league, and Iowa can't dig an even bigger hole than what it faces right now. The desperation Iowa is likely to play with, combined with the reality of being at home, should lift Iowa and give the Hawkeyes a major shot of adrenaline.
Indiana's struggles are also well-documented. Indiana is a slumping team, an opponent which can enable Iowa to get healthy. The Hawkeyes have a beatable opponent at home and are going to go all-in to win.
Final Indiana-Iowa Prediction & Pick
Iowa must win this game. Indiana really needs this game. A must-win trumps all other considerations in a game between evenly-matched teams. Take Iowa.
Final Indiana-Iowa Prediction & Pick: Iowa -1.5
How To Watch Indiana vs. Iowa
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports app
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT
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