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We have a matchup of Big Ten contenders when the Ohio State Buckeyes (14-4, 8-4 Big Ten) visit the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-4, 7-3 Big Ten) on Thursday night. The Iowa Hawkeyes were rolling along nicely through conference play until they dropped a home game to Indiana and then went to Illinois and lost. They bounced back by knocking off the surprisingly poor Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday, 84-78. Ohio State has won three in a row since losing to Purdue on January 19. Since then, they have won at Wisconsin and then beaten Penn State and Michigan State at home.
Let’s take a look at this key matchup in terms of conference seeding as you plan your week’s worth of college basketball betting.
NCAAB: Ohio State at Iowa (February 4)
When: Thursday, February 4, 2021, 7:00 pm ET
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA
TV: ESPN
Radio: No National Broadcast
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Why should you bet on the Buckeyes?
Ohio State caught Michigan State at just the right time, as the Spartans had gone through 20 off days due to COVID-19 spread and contact tracing and then got demolished by 30 points by Rutgers, of all teams. E.J. Liddell led the Buckeyes with 20 points and put up eight boards. Justice Sueing scored 17, as Ohio State has won six of their last seven.
The Buckeyes went into the locker room at halftime up by a dozen points and just kept going after the intermission. For the game, Ohio State shot 45 percent and went 6 of 18 (33 percent) from behind the three-point arc. This has been an unusual January for Ohio State; in seasons past, this has been a time when the team has started to falter a bit, turning a promising non-conference slate and first half of Big Ten play into a slump. The Buckeyes are trending upward now, and they head to Iowa full of confidence.
Why should you put your money on the Hawkeyes?
Iowa got Michigan State one game later than the Buckeyes did, hosting the Spartans on Tuesday and winning by six points. Luka Garza, once again, led Iowa in scoring, putting up 27 points to reach 2,000 career points. In the second half, coach Fran McCaffery opened up the bench a bit, letting freshmen Tony Perkins and Keegan Murray get some time, along with sophomore Joe Toussaint. The reserves scored 39 all told, as 11 different Iowa players appeared. The bench players kicked in 89 minutes for the night and shot 13 of 19 from the floor, pulling down 19 of the team’s 38 boards.
Garza kept attacking the basket, giving Michigan State foul trouble when they contested his shots. He drew 12 of the 28 fouls that Michigan State committed, and the team shot 35 free throws. Even so, Michigan State finished strong, going on an 8-1 run down the stretch. The Spartans forced a shot clock violation but missed an open look with 24 seconds left with a chance to tie the game. Jordan Bohannon finished the game by making four straight free throws. Iowa looked solid after two straight losses, but it doesn’t look good that Michigan State was able to rally back after all of their struggles.
The Final Word
Ohio State is definitely trending upward, and the home court factor is not as much of a big deal this season (except, apparently, in Minnesota) due to the COVID-19 restrictions on attendance. I see the Buckeyes coming to Iowa and continuing their strong play with a 77-71 win.
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