Iowa vs #16 Ohio State | Odds, Preview and Analysis College Basketball

Not long ago, Iowa looked like a lock NCAA Tournament team but now the Hawkeyes are probably on the bubble with a 14-7 overall record and 4-6 Big Ten mark as they visit No. 16 Ohio State in conference play on Thursday. The Buckeyes are favored on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Iowa at Ohio State NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

• When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
• Where: Value City Arena
• TV: Fox Sports 1
• Stream: Fox Sports Go
• Radio: Tunein.com
• Opening NCAAB Lines: Ohio State -5 (total 152.5)

Last Meeting

This is the only scheduled meeting of the season. Last season, they split two. The on in Columbus was a 73-57 Iowa upset win when the Hawkeyes were No. 9 and Buckeyes No. 4. Luka Garza had 24 points and pulling down 10 rebounds and Joe Weiskamp added 19 points — including 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. They are both gone now. E.J. Liddell had 15 points and Justice Sueing scored 10 for the Buckeyes. Liddell remains OSU’s star. Sueing is hurt.

The overall series is tied 82-82 between the two programs and the Buckeyes have outscored Iowa by just 26 points in the 164 meetings.

Why Bet on Iowa?

Iowa lost its second straight game Monday, 90-86 in double OT at Penn State. John Harrar scored a career-high 19 points with 10 rebounds, and Seth Lundy added 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Penn State. The game featured 15 ties and 15 lead changes. Iowa opened the second overtime with a basket but did not make another field goal until Keegan Murray’s 3-pointer with 1.5 left.

It was Iowa’s first overtime contest of the season; Iowa’s first double overtime game since Feb. 8, 2017 (at Minnesota); and fourth overtime contest in the Iowa-Penn State series.

Murray, who scored all of his game-high 21 points in the second half and overtime sessions, tipped in a Jordan Bohannon missed 3-point field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Iowa’s starting guards Joe Toussaint and Jordan Bohannon combined to score two points on 0-for-11 shooting from the field. Toussaint totaled just under 19 minutes of action in the game and made his biggest contribution on the boards with five rebounds. Bohannon (1,848) is 11 points from tying and 12 points from surpassing Aaron White (1,859) for third place on Iowa’s all-time scoring chart.

Connor (4) and Patrick McCaffery (3) combined to make seven of Iowa’s 11 three-pointers. Both Connor and Patrick equaled career highs in 3-pointers made. Patrick tied season bests in scoring (16) and rebounding (7) Connor scored a season-high 12 points, netting all 12 in the first half. The redshirt senior entered the game with four 3-point field goals this season, he matched that total sinking 4-of-6 in the first half.

Connor left the game with four minutes remaining with an upper body injury and is not expected to play in this game. At first, the team was worried he separated his shoulder but it’s just a bad contusion.

“Right now I don’t think he can dribble. That would be a problem,” Coach Fran McCaffrey said. Fran McCaffery is also Connor’s dad.

Iowa can ill afford to lose one of its most-experienced players. McCaffery also had 6 rebounds and 3 steals in his 16 minutes of playing time vs. PSU. Others will have slack to pick up in his absence. The Hawkeyes are second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82); third in fewest turnovers per game (8.9); and fourth in turnover margin (6.0).

Why Bet on Ohio State?

The Buckeyes (13-5) have been off since an 81-78 loss at No. 6 Purdue on Sunday. Jaden Ivey freed himself on the wing in front of the Boilermakers bench and delivered a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left. He scored 21 points and made 3 of 6 from beyond the arc after coming off the bench for the second straight game since missing one game with an injured hip flexor. Purdue had led 52-32 with 14:35 remaining.

Malaki Branham and star EJ Liddell each finished with 20 points to pace the Buckeyes. In addition to Branham’s 11 points in the second half, Liddell scored 14 of his 20 after the break, including the Buckeyes’ final seven points. Cedric Russell and Eugene Brown III each played well off the bench, scoring nine points apiece. Kyle Young had the crucial late steal that led to the tying bucket and also finished with seven points and two assists.

It was the Buckeyes’ fourth game this season decided by a bucket in the final seconds and the seventh game that featured a one-possession lead with less than 20 seconds to play in regulation.

Liddell is on a number of midseason watch lists, including the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. Liddell is the only player in the country averaging 19.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.8 assists per game. Braham is the only other Buckeye averaging in double figures at 10.6.

Through the first 14 games of the season, the Buckeyes were averaging nearly 13 turnovers per game. Over the last four, OSU is averaging 7.3 per game including a season-low six in each of the last two.

Expert Prediction

• Ohio State 80, Iowa 76

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