The No. 8 Iowa Hawkeyes (11-2 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) visit the Northwestern Wildcats (6-5, 3-4) Sunday for a noon ET tip-off. Below, we analyze the Iowa-Northwestern college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Iowa at Northwestern: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:50 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Iowa -600 (bet $600 to win $100) | Northwestern +425 (bet $100 to win $425)
- Against the spread/ATS: Iowa -10.5 (-105) | Northwestern +10.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 159.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Iowa at Northwestern: Three things to know
- Iowa beat Northwestern 87-72 as an 11.5-point home favorite Dec. 29. Leading 63-60 with 10:41 to go, the Hawkeyes went on a 13-2 run and the Wildcats trailed by double-digits the rest of the way. Senior G Jordan Bohannon hit three of his six 3-pointers in the final 6:14 – he sank five second-half 3’s – and finished with a game-high 24 points for the Hawkeyes.
- Iowa enters on a four-game win streak, last playing Jan. 10 when it beat visiting Minnesota 86-71 as a 10.5-point favorite. Thursday’s home game vs. Michigan State was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the MSU program. Senior C Luka Garza is second in the country with 27.6 points per game and averages a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game.
- Northwestern has dropped four in a row and went 0-4 ATS after opening the season 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play. The slide started with the Dec. 29 setback to Iowa, followed by losses at currently-No. 8 Michigan (85-66 Jan. 3), at home to now-No. 13 Illinois (81-56 Jan. 7) and at Ohio State (81-71 Wednesday). Junior F Pete Nance, son of former NBA star Larry Nance Sr., scored a career-high 21 points in the loss at Iowa and averages 11.5 PPG and 5.7 rebounds per game. Junior F Miller Kopp leads the Wildcats at 14.0 PPG.
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Iowa at Northwestern: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Iowa 84, Northwestern 70
Money line (ML)
PASS. The Hawkeyes will sweep the season series, but the -600 price is way too high.
Against the spread (ATS)
IOWA -10.5 (-105) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1½ times your usual wager. Northwestern lost its last four games by an average of 17.3 PPG. Iowa, which has won its last four contests by 13.5 PPG, will be the best team the ‘Cats face this season.
The Hawkeyes have won the last five in the head-to-head series and went 4-1 ATS.
ATS: Iowa 9-4 | Northwestern 5-5
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 159.5 (-110) is the way to go. While the Hawkeyes rank third in the nation in scoring with 91.9 PPG, their average drops to 84.0 in conference play. The Wildcats average 78.4 PPG, but they’re only scoring 69.9 PPG in Big Ten action.
Another reason I like the Under: Iowa is 1-3 vs. the O/U in its last four games.
O/U records: Iowa 9-4 | Northwestern 6-4
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| Johnny’s 2020-21 CBK record / Strongest plays | 31-26 / 12-16 |
| CBK record since Jan. 1 / Strongest plays | 16-9 / 7-6 |
| 2021 overall record (all sports) / Strongest plays | 26-14 / 13-8 |
| 2020 overall record (all sports) / Strongest plays | 178-147-4 / 87-61-1 |
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