The Hawkeyes return to the court in the January 13th Indiana at Iowa betting matchup for the first time in a week. That has given Fran McCaffrey some time to digest last Thursday’s 87-78 loss at Wisconsin as +3 point underdogs in what was another suspect defensive outing.
The Big Ten might just be a gauntlet this season with teams trading beatings depending on who is at home. That’s what the Hawkeyes found out last Thursday and its what Indiana has dished out in its last two games, a 67-51 win over Ohio State and beating Minnesota 73-60 both in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are on the road in this matchup though, and they’re 0-3 in true away games this season which is why Iowa is a -4.5 favorite.
Indiana Out on the Road
The Hoosiers (12-3) received 12 votes for the AP Top 25 this week after posting wins in five of their last six games. Indiana is up to 3-2 in Big Ten play but one thing they haven’t done yet is pick up a true road win. IU has come close in a 112-110 OT loss at Syracuse, falling 64-59 at Wisconsin, and losing 61-58 at Penn State. That’s 10 total points away from a perfect 15-0 record on the season.
The Hoosiers look like a solid play in the January 13th Indiana at Iowa betting contest getting +4.5 points. Not that the Hawkeyes can’t score (86.7 ppg) but they also can’t stop anybody with the conference’s second worst defense (71.6 ppg).
Another reason to like Indiana in this matchup is because they beat Iowa 81-69 at Carver-Hawkeyes last season as +10 point underdogs and when Iowa had the Player of the Year Luka Garza who had 28 points and 12 rebounds. The Hoosiers’ Trayce Jackson-Davis proved to be the equalizer in that matchup with 23 points and he’s continued that pace this year averaging 19.4 points and 8.7 rebounds.
Has Iowa Figured Things Out?
Indiana has won three in a row in this series so it’s not a stretch to call Thursday night’s game a must win for Iowa. The Hawkeyes had a four game win streak snapped last Thursday in a 9-point loss at Wisconsin and are now just 1-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa has also lost conference games at Purdue and at home to Illinois while also beating Maryland 80-75 at home but as -9.5 favorites.
Iowa (11-4) does have the nation’s leading scorer with Keegan Murray continuing to churn along with 24.7 ppg. Murray had 27 last week at the Kohl Center but it still wasn’t enough to even cover the +3 point spread against the Badgers.
The Hawkeyes’ major advantage is being at home where they are 9-1 on the season. 8 of those wins came as at least -18.5 favorites though, and Iowa struggled in their two conference home games losing to Illinois as a -3.5 favorite and beating Maryland by only 5 when Iowa was at -9.5.
Free January 13th Indiana at Iowa Betting Pick
It’s hard to get a road win in the Big Ten, but at the same time Iowa doesn’t exude a ton of confidence right now home or away. Murray can drop buckets in bunches, but Indiana’s Jackson-Davis is right up there with him in the points department. Indiana has been close in all three of their losses while also winning three straight in the series.
Indiana 76 – Iowa 71
Free Pick: Indiana +4.5
