Ohio State at Iowa Betting Preview

• Buckeyes Must Defend
• Garza Needs Some Help
• Ohio State at Iowa Betting Pick: Hawkeyes Heat Up in Win

The Ohio State Buckeyes head to Iowa City on Thursday night for a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Both teams are currently ranked in the Top 10 and this will be the best game of the night in college basketball.

Ohio State has climbed all the way up to #7 in the AP Top 25 despite being in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes are 14-4 overall and 8-4 in conference play, but they could jump the Hawkeyes in the standings with a win.

Iowa was expected to dominate the Big Ten Conference this season, but they are just 7-3 in league play. The Hawkeyes have struggled to find its rhythm of late, and each loss is hurting the NCAA Tournament resume for this Final Four contender.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are 5.5-point favorites over the Ohio State Buckeyes in this showdown.

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Buckeyes Must Defend

The Ohio State Buckeyes are holding opponents to just 67 points per game, and that is not easy to do in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State is a very physical team, and that physical play will be needed to slow down one of the best offensive teams in college basketball.

Forward E.J. Liddell has really emerged as a All-Big Ten Conference performer this season, and he will need to battle with Luka Garza in this game. Liddell leads the team with 15.3 points per game, and is able to score in a variety of ways.

Duane Washington Jr. and Justin Ahrens are the two best three-point shooters on this roster, and they will need to shoot it well in this game. Ohio State does most of its damage around the rim, but they must make shots to keep up with the Hawkeyes.

Ohio State has been able to win games that are played at a fast-paced, but that strategy won’t work on Thursday night. Look for the Buckeyes to slow this game down to give themselves a chance to win.

Garza Needs Some Help

Iowa center Luka Garza leads the country with 26.5 points per game, and he should win the Player of the Year Award this season. There has yet to be a team to find a way to slow Garza down, and he is going to put up a ton of points in this game as well.

Lately Iowa has not been able to find enough offense outside of Garza, even though this team is scoring close to 90 points per game. Jordan Bohannon has struggled with his shot, and the team has been playing without C.J. Frederick.

The Hawkeyes appeared to figure some things out in the win over Michigan State, and that should carry over into this game. Don’t be surprised to see Iowa light it up in this game.

Ohio State at Iowa Betting Pick: Hawkeyes Heat Up in Win

The Big Ten Conference is absolutely loaded, and these teams know how to play in big time matchups against other great teams. Winning on the road in the Big Ten Conference is never easy, even if there aren’t any fans in the stands.

Ohio State has been one of the biggest surprise teams in the country this season, but they just don’t have enough offense to keep this game close. The Buckeyes will play tough, but there is no way that they will be able to knock off the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

Luka Garza is going to lead the Hawkeyes with at least 30 points in this game, but it will be the three-point shooting for Iowa that dominates the game. Iowa will play their best game of the year on Thursday night as they rout the Buckeyes.

Bet the Iowa Hawkeyes -5.5 over the Ohio State Buckeyes in this Top 10 showdown.