Iowa at Northwestern odds, picks and predictions
The Iowa Hawkeyes (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) try to knock off the streaking Northwestern Wildcats (19-7, 10-5) in Evanston Sunday. Tip from Welsh-Ryan Arena is at 6:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook's lines around the Iowa vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Northwestern avoided a letdown after defeating then-No. 1 Purdue 64-58 last Sunday with a 64-62 win over Indiana Wednesday as a 2-point underdog. The Wildcats have now 4 games in a row to rise to 2nd place in the Big Ten conference.
Iowa won the first meeting between these programs this season 86-70 as a 6.5-point favorite on Jan. 31 and enters on a 2-game win streak. While both games were against the worst teams in the Big Ten in Minnesota and Ohio State, both games were also resounding victories with the Hawkeyes winning each by at least 12 points. They topped Ohio State 92-75 Thursday as 7-point favorites.
This will be an elite strength-on-strength battle as Iowa ranks 20th with 81.0 points per game and Northwestern ranks 20th with 61.9 points allowed per game.
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Iowa at Northwestern odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated 11 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML) : Iowa -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Northwestern +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS) : Iowa -1.5 (-105) | Northwestern +1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U) : 145.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Iowa at Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Iowa 75, Northwestern 68
Moneyline
PASS.
Iowa is the correct team to be favored despite being on the road against a Northwestern team on a tear. The Hawkeyes have already beaten the Wildcats once and another win here is certainly attainable.
Northwestern is set for a letdown after 2 wins in the past week against Purdue and Indiana. Doing so against Iowa is far less of a penalty than it would be against some other opponents. While I don't love Iowa (-120) as a standalone wager due to the situation it's probably okay to add to a parlay.
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Against the spread
BET IOWA -1.5 (-105).
Iowa will be tied with Northwestern with a win Sunday. After winning the first matchup in Iowa City by 16 points, a 1.5-point spread seems a bit too low in this one.
Northwestern has been playing well since it had to postpone games for COVID-19. It comes in on a 4-game win streak, but Iowa is also coming in with a 2-game win streak and is also playing well after a dominant victory over Ohio State.
With Iowa bringing in a proficient offense and Northwestern still struggling a bit on that side of the ball, I think the Hawkeyes will be slightly too much for the Wildcats to handle.
Over/Under
BET OVER 145.5 (-110)
Iowa can score. The last game between these teams ended 86-70 and surpassed this total by 10.5 points. While this meeting in Evanston will not finish as high as the first meeting, this number is still a bit too low.
Iowa has gone Over in 20 of 26 games after it scored 90 or more points in its previous outing. The Over has also hit in 5 straight after a win and 5 of the last 6 games overall for the Hawkeyes.
Despite Northwestern having a top-20 scoring defense, Iowa and its potent offense will do enough to go Over the total here.
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