Two heavyweight teams in the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes will square off this Sunday at Value City Arena in Columbus, with the former looking to avenge their loss to the latter earlier this month. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Iowa Hawkeyes vs Ohio State Buckeyes NCAA College Basketball Game on February 28 2021
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
When: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Iowa Hawkeyes (odds) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (odds) – view all 2021 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes (odds)
Record: 17-7 Overall / 11-6 Conference
Iowa got tripped up by the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor last Thursday, as the Hawkeyes lost to Juwan Howard’s boys’ 79-57. Luka Garza couldn’t get his offense going against Hunter Dickinson, as he scored just 16 points on 6-of-190 shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes finished with a 35.6 field-goal shooting percentage, which was way below their 47.1 percent shooting from the field on the season. Garza will remain a focal point of Iowa’s offense regardless of his performance against Michigan, but his teammates have to be ready to provide support against Ohio State. Garza also had just 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the Hawkeyes’ 89-85 home loss to the Buckeyes’ earlier this season. Garza is still one of the best players in all of college basketball this season and it could come down to how well his supporting cast plays. Look for the Hawkeyes’ outside shooting to be a big factor in the rematch against Ohio State. Iowa went 14 of 36 from deep in the loss to the Buckeyes.
Iowa, which is fourth nationally with a 40.1 3-point shooting percentage, has seen the total hit the under in all of its last five road games.
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (odds)
Record: 18-6 Overall / 12-6 Conference
Ohio State hurt its chances to get a No. 1 seed in the upcoming March Madness by losing its last two games to Michigan (92-87) at home and to the Michigan State Spartans (92-87) on the road. The loss to the Spartans was especially critical to Ohio State’s bid for a No. 1 seed, as the Spartans are just 68th on the NET Rankings. Nevertheless, Ohio State can negate the pain of that loss if they can defeat Iowa once again. In the win over the Hawkeyes, Ohio State took advantage of Iowa’s loose defense that is currently allowing 73.0 points per game, which is just 249th in the nation. Justice Sueing finished that game with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyle Young and EJ Liddell each had 16 points. Ohio State isn’t a 3-point-heavy team on offense, but it capitalized on the Hawkeyes’ faulty perimeter defense that is giving up 9.2 3-pointers per game and went 14 of 32 from deep in the win over Iowa. Look for the Buckeyes to test their outside shooting early on Sunday. Ohio State shot 45.8 percent from behind the arc in its last four games.
Ohio State is 5-2 against the spread in its last seven games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Iowa wins, 84-81.
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