The No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes can’t afford to lose this Thursday if they want to strengthen their case for a top seed in March. As for the Spartans, a win in Hawkeyes territory might have them sliding into the Top 25 when the next update comes around. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Michigan State Spartans vs Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA College Basketball Game on January 14 2021
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City
When: Thursday, January 14, 2021, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Michigan State Spartans (odds) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (odds) – view all 2021 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: TBD
Betting on the Michigan State Spartans (odds)
Record: 8-4 Overall / 2-4 Conference
The Spartans squandered a 17-point lead and lost to the Purdue Boilermakers at home on Jan. 8 to suffer their fourth loss in conference play. Michigan State shot poorly in that game, as the Spartans made only 39 percent of their field goal attempts while turning the ball over 14 times. Ball security has been an issue of late for Michigan State, which had 15 turnovers during their upset win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Jan. 5 at home. Aaron Henry had 13 points and seven rebounds for Michigan State in the loss to Purdue, while Joshua Langford had 10 points. After that bad shooting day against Purdue, Henry and the Spartans could do much better against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are just 219th nationally in terms of scoring defense, with opponents racking up 73.2 points.
Michigan State is 6-4 against the spread in its last 10 meetings with the Hawkeyes. Last year, Michigan State defeated the Hawkeyes in East Lansing, 78-70.
Betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes (odds)
Record: 11-2 Overall / 5-1 Conference
The Hawkeyes just collected another strong victory. After defeating the No. 16 Minnesota Golden Gophers at home last Sunday, the Hawkeyes have managed to extend their unbeaten streak to four games, a stretch that includes three wins over ranked teams. Apart from Minnesota, the Hawkeyes have also victimized the No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats at home on Dec. 29 (87-72) and the No. 14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the road on Jan. 2 (77-75). Luka Garza has proven to be a scoring machine for the Hawkeyes this season. The leading candidate to win Player of the Year honors, Garza dropped 33 points in the Minnesota game on 13-of-20 shooting from the field. On the season, Garza is averaging 27.6 points per game on a 62.7 field goal shooting percentage. He is clearly the focal point of Iowa’s offense that ranks second in the nation with 91.9 points per game.
Iowa is 7-3 against the spread in its last 10 games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Iowa wins, 85-74.
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