South Dakota vs. Iowa Pick
Will No. 1 Iowa avoid a letdown performance when it hosts No. 8 South Dakota in the first round of the NIT Tournament tonight at 9PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Iowa is the clear favorite at home, as the Hawkeyes are getting odds of -10.5 points against South Dakota. The over/under total for the game is listed at 164 points. These two met in 2012 with Iowa getting an 87-63 win at home. These two meet tonight from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
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Iowa went 18-14 on the season to earn the top seed in the NIT. The Hawkeyes were 14-4 at home and 10-8 in the Big Ten. Iowa went just 13-15-1 against the spread on the season, but was 9-5-1 ATS at home. On the season, Iowa averaged 80 points per game while allowing 77.7. At home, Iowa averaged 86.2 on offense and allowed 75.8 on defense. Peter Jok has been leading the team with 19.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while Tyler Cook is adding 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.
South Dakota earned the spot in the NIT by going 22-11 on the season and winning the Summit League regular-season title. The Coyotes were 20-8-2 against the spread this season, including 10-6-2 ATS on the road. South Dakota averaged 76.9 points per game on offense this season while allowing 74.8 on defense. Away from home, it averages 79.2 points on offense and gives up 79.8 on defense. Matt Mooney is leading the team with 18.5 points per contest while Tyler Flack is averaging 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.
This game means a lot more to South Dakota. Iowa doesn’t have to prove much, as an NIT title won’t exactly be a high point for the program. The Hawkeyes looked awful against Indiana last week and have been too inconsistent all season. While South Dakota may not have the talent to match Iowa, it should be able to play up for this experience and keep the game competitive. They have an offense that should be able to keep this game within single digits.
NIT TOURNAMENT PREDICTION: SOUTH DAKOTA +10.5