Iowa vs. Northwestern Odds
When the common season schedule got here out, noone knew this matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Northwestern Wildcats would have such big Massive-Ten implications. Northwestern enters this matchup using a four-game profitable streak, whereas Iowa has received 4 of its previous 5.
Within the final assembly on January thirty first, the Hawkeyes cruised to an 86-70 residence victory, so the Wildcats will likely be trying to avenge their loss from that matchup. Moreover, the Hawkeyes can leap to second place within the Massive-Ten standings if they’re able to come out of Evanston with a victory.
These groups are drastically completely different by way of offensive types. The Hawkeyes like to get out in transition and the Wildcats transfer at a snails tempo. I believe that is an intriguing matchup to breakdown and I’m excited to dive in.
Regardless of the departures of CJ Fredrick, Jordan Bohannon and Keegan Murray, the Hawkeyes offense has not skipped a beat.
Per KenPom, the Hawkeyes are third within the nation in adjusted offensive effectivity and 53rd in adjusted tempo. This crew likes to fly up and down the courtroom, so in the event that they’re cooking from the skin they may blow opponents out of the health club. Kris Murray leads the Hawkeyes in scoring, averaging 21 factors per sport.
Quite a lot of speak about final yr’s Hawkeyes crew centered on how poor they have been on the defensive finish of the ground. Effectively, they definitely have cleaned issues up a bit this season, as they rank a good eighty fifth in defensive effectivity. The Hawkeyes could possibly be a matchup nightmare for lots of groups when the calendar turns to March.
Contemplating how sluggish Northwestern goes on offense, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see if the Hawkeyes can replicate their efficiency from their earlier matchup in opposition to the Wildcats, when Iowa shot 10-of-21 from 3-point land.
It’s been a terrific season for the Wildcats, and they’re going to look to proceed to strengthen their resume with one other massive residence victory on Sunday night. The actual query is that if they’re up for the problem of containing this Iowa offense. Northwestern will want all the assistance it may possibly get from its terrific backcourt duo of Boo Buie and Chase Audige.
To no shock, the Wildcats have leaned closely on their protection, the place they rank twenty fourth in adjusted defensive effectivity and 281st in adjusted tempo. They like to sluggish their opponents down and decrease the variance by limiting possessions.
They’ve additionally gotten the job carried out on the charity stripe, rating 57th in FT%, which is another excuse they’ve been profitable. My solely fear concerning the Wildcats is that they might have some regression coming because of not being balanced on each ends of the ground.
Per Shot High quality, the Wildcats maintain a -8.01 record-luck, which signifies they’ve been a bit lucky this season. I believe that they’re taking part in significantly better basketball heading into this matchup than previous to final month’s conflict, however Northwestern definitely doesn’t need the regression monster looming because it goes up in opposition to Iowa’s firepower.
Iowa vs. Northwestern Betting Decide
That is going to be a terrific basketball sport, and it’s going to be a real chess match between these groups. With such a distinction in types, I can see why this line has opened at Iowa -1.
I believe it is a good spot for the Hawkeyes. Northwestern is coming off two powerful, emotional victories up to now week, so it could possibly be a bit sleepy, even at residence. I additionally imagine the Hawkeyes have approach an excessive amount of firepower for the Wildcats to maintain up.
I’ll roll the cube that Iowa stays scorching on offense and that Northwestern will battle to maintain up, simply because it did within the earlier matchup.
Decide: Iowa -1 (Wager as much as -2)
