Iowa vs Michigan | Expert Analysis & NCAA Basketball Odds

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Michigan, which is still without suspended Coach Juwan Howard, is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but the Wolverines probably would be off it for good if they can beat No. 24 Iowa on Thursday with UM as a short favorite on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Iowa at Michigan NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
Where: Crisler Center
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Michigan -1.5 (total 155)

Last Meeting

On Feb. 17, Michigan was an 84-79 upset winner at Iowa. Freshman Moussa Diabate scored 16 of his career-high 28 points in the second half for U-M. Diabate was 12-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds. Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. Keegan Murray scored 23 points with seven rebounds for Iowa. Murray was in and out of the game late with apparent leg cramps. Patrick McCaffery added 13 points.

Michigan and Iowa have played 163 games, with U-M leading, 98-65. U-M has a 54-24 record in Ann Arbor and has won seven of the last 10 at Crisler Center.

Why Bet on Iowa?

Iowa (21-8) played without starter Patrick McCaffrey on Monday but still routed Northwestern 82-61 for its fourth straight win. Hawkeyes star Keegan Murray nearly outscored Northwestern in the first half. He had 13 points, while the Wildcats scored just 17 on 22% shooting. Northwestern missed 14 of its first 17 shots while posting its lowest first-half point total of the season with just 17. The game was over then.

Murray secured a double-double in the first 20 minutes, heading into the locker room with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and a 19-point Hawkeye advantage. Murray didn’t let up in the second half. Fresh off his school-record fifth Big Ten Player of the Week honor this season, Murray finished with a dominant 26 points and 18 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.

Murray cracked Iowa’s single-season scoring Top 10 List on Monday. He currently ranks sixth with 653 points. He is nine points from fifth-place Fred Brown (662 points). Murray is the only player nationally to average 23+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 2+ blocks this season and one of three players from a major conference with those averages over the last decade.

Jordan Bohannon, who has played a school and NCAA record 172 games, put up 18 points in his final showing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Bohannon drained four 3-pointers to bring his Big Ten record career total to 435, which also ties for the sixth-most triples in college basketball history. Senior Connor McCaffery posted a season-high 17 points, shooting 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc.

Patrick McCaffrey was dealing with a hip injury and he’s in doubt for Thursday. McCaffery has appeared in 26 games. He averages 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists over 25.1 minutes.

The Hawkeyes are tops in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8); fourth in turnover margin (5.3); and sixth in fewest turnovers per game (8.9). Iowa has won five true road games this season, including its last three (Maryland; Ohio State; Nebraska).

Why Bet on Michigan?

Michigan (16-12) got a huge win Tuesday, 87-70 over rival Michigan State. Caleb Houstan was fouled on a 3-point shot and hit all three free throws to give Michigan the lead for good and spark a 14-0 run, capped when Hunter Dickinson scored inside about 3 1/2 minutes later to make it 23-11. Terrance Williams II’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 spurt that gave the Wolverines an 18-point lead about a minute before the break. Michigan State trailed by double figures the rest of the way.

Dickinson had a career-high 33 points on 13-for-19 from the field while grabbing nine rebounds and tying a career high with four blocks. Houstan added 16 points, and Williams II scored nine points off the bench after tying a career high with three three-points. The Wolverines shot 58.2 percent (32-55) and outscored the Spartans in the paint 44-26. Michigan found its rhythm beyond the arc, shooting 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from three-point line.

Over his last three games, Houstan has averaged 19.3 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 59.3 percent from the field (16-for-27), 64.3 percent from long range (9-for-14) and has gone 17-for-18 from the free throw line.

Dickinson has a team-best 12 20+ point games this season and has added nine games of 10+ rebounds. Dickinson (889 points, 432 rebounds) is quickly moving up the U-M rankings as he needs 111 points to reach 1,000 (57th Wolverine) and 68 rebounds to reach 500 (46th Wolverines). There are 30 players in U-M’s 1,000 point/500 rebound club, with the last two to join Derrick Walton, Jr. and Zak Irvin in 2016-17.

The Michigan/Iowa matchup features two of the longest tenured Big Ten players — U-M’s Eli Brooks and Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon. Both returned for the NCAAs extra year following the covid-19 pandemic. Brooks is in his fifth season, while Bohannon is in his sixth after a medical redshirt (2019-20). Brooks (121) and Bohannon (120) lead all Big Ten players in career victories.