It’s Valentines Day and the Hawkeyes used to have a player named Val Barnes so is that enough to pick Iowa in the 2/14 college basketball free pick? Well the Hawkeyes 1-8 road record might be enough to sway bettors to the side of the Wolverines, who are 13-1 in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes have shown a propensity to not just lose, but to get blown out on the road but oddsmakers did not make this game a cake walk setting the line at MICH -11. Is that too many points…or not nearly enough?
Happy Valentine’s Day or rather Michigan Basketball day!!!https://t.co/1mXsrIHuQO
— harley johnson (@harley_johnsonx) February 14, 2018
Iowa Has Been Horrendous on the Road
The Hawkeyes have one Big Ten road win this year, a 104-97 OT win at Illinois on January 11th as +4.5 underdogs. The other results away from Iowa City in conference play haven’t been pretty. They include:
- 64-77 at Indiana
- 73-91 at Maryland
- 64-80 at Rutgers
- 84-98 at Nebraska
- 58-82 at Penn State
- 64-82 at Ohio State
That’s six double-digit losses in as many games which makes the 2/14 college basketball free pick line of Michigan -11 not look as bad. Is that a lot of points in a conference match up? Of course, but Iowa has done nothing to prove they can even look competitive on the road in the Big Ten. Iowa has lost six of the last eight overall and they appear to be a different team at home compared to in away games. The Hawkeyes did play a close 93-96 contest against Michigan State eight days ago, but once again that was at Carver-Hawkeye.
Can Michigan Avoid Complacency to Cover the -11 Points?
The Wolverines are in a great spot to record a huge home win on Wednesday night. They are an astounding 13-1 at the Crisler Center this season with the only loss coming by a single point against then #6 Purdue. UM has won three of their last four but have shown vulnerability at home. On February 3rd it took OT to beat Minnesota 76-73 when oddsmakers had Michigan listed as -12.5 favorites.
Michigan needs to get their offense back on track if they want to cover the huge number in the 2/14 college basketball free pick. The Wolverines have been held to under 63 points in four of their last seven. One of Michigan’s best offensive outings came in the first meeting against Iowa however. UM scored a 75-68 win on January 2nd that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Wolverines led by as many as 18 points in the first half of that game – a half in which they put up 48 points. Michigan shot 49.1% from the field in that game but Iowa outscored them 32-27 in the second half. The Hawkeyes went for 48.1% from the field themselves and hit 6 of 15 three pointers. That second half performance gives some discretion to giving the points in the 2/14 college basketball free pick.
2/14 College Basketball Free Pick Betting
Every game is a must win for Michigan basketball from here on out. Huge game tonight vs. Iowa. HUGE game on Sunday vs. Ohio State
— William Stahly (@WStahly20) February 14, 2018
A whopping 74% of the public are on Michigan in the 2/14 college basketball free pick – making the Wolverines the 8th most popular bet of the night. Iowa hasn’t shown a lot to suggest otherwise when playing on the road this season. That being said, Michigan’s offense has been too inconsistent lately to give double digit points in this game. The Wolverines could be in the classic look-ahead situation too as 1st place in the Big Ten (and #1 rival) Ohio State visits on Sunday. UM probably gets the win late, but Iowa should put up a fight on a lackluster night for the Wolverines.
Free Pick: Iowa Hawkeyes +11
