Michigan vs. Iowa Preview
IOWA CITY, IA (The Spread) – The Michigan Wolverines ( 17-5, 11-8-1 ATS ) come into this Big Ten regular season game on Saturday, February 8th at Carver-Hawkeye Arena hoping to upend the Iowa Hawkeyes ( 17-6, 13-8 ATS ).
This will be easier said than done. The Wolverines did beat the Hawkeyes earlier this season by a 75-67 count, but now that must try to emulate that effort against a hungry and revenge minded group of Hawkeyes.
I rate this conference (Big 10) as one of the strongest- if not the strongest in the nation, and these two teams Michigan and Iowa are two of the better teams in the country.
Michigan has been consistently strong in conference play while Iowa has struggled of late losing 3 of their L/5 including a staunchly contested 76-69 loss against Ohio State in their last trip to the hardwood. Michigan won its last time out , smashing Nebraska by a 79-50 count.
Considering recent events a-lot of the public are looking at this line like its a gift -as they are getting points with a Wolverines team ,that has been so dominant, looks to good to be true. But I would not be so sure about this being a solid underdog bet as Iowa despite of their recent struggles can explode at any time. Remember, that no team is unbeatable in this conference, as the Wolverines proved in a loss at Indiana Feb 2 of this season.
You have to remember that Iowa might be down, but their not out, and they are going to come out here with some intense pressure as they look to get out of their funk and get some mojo back. With that said, I am leaning towards backing Iowa!
Here are some key trends to consider:
Iowa is 22-3 SU L/25 home games
Michigan has won 11 of their L/12 games and are 4-1 SU L/5 on the road.
Iowa has lost 8 of his L/9 tilts vs Michigan
The home team is 9-2 ATS L/11 meetings with all the wins and covers coming by 6 points or more and and by an average of 12.88 ppg.
When it comes to totals wagering, both teams have extremely capable offenses with Michigan scoring an average of 76.1 ppg and Iowa popping an average of more than 83.7 ppg on the scoreboard. Both teams have different ways of putting points up.
Michigan depends on Nik Stauskas and his big time 3-point shot, while Iowa overall depth of players can score at on the inside and from downtown when needed.
Key Totals Trend:
Iowa has gone over in 6 of their L/9 games.
The total on Wolverines road games has gone over in 10 of their L/14 road games.
Over is 9-4 in Hawkeyes last 13 home games.
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