The No. 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (23-9) meet the No. 4 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (18-12) in a Friday afternoon Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal. The contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is slated to tip off at 2 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Iowa vs. Rutgers odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Iowa clobbered Northwestern, 112-76, in Thursday second-round action at the Big Ten’s title event. The Hawkeyes broke Big Ten Tournament records for scoring, field goals (43) and 3-pointers (19) in their bracket advance. With the win, Iowa is 6-1 over its last seven games. The Hawkeyes — now ranked 23rd nationally — went 12-8 in the Big Ten standings.
Rutgers squeaked by Indiana and Penn State in its final two regular-season games, snapping a three-game skid and closing out its league slate with a mark of 12-8. The dozen wins mark the Scarlet Knights’ most since RU joined the Big Ten in 2014-15. Many of Rutgers’ circuit wins were by close margins. One such game was the lone regular-season meeting between the Knights and Hawkeyes: RU defeated Iowa 48-46 Jan. 19.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Iowa vs. Rutgers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:25 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Iowa -300 (bet $300 to win $100) | Rutgers +230 (bet $100 to win $230)
- Against the spread (ATS): Iowa -6.5 (-110) | Rutgers +6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 144.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
[tipico]
Iowa vs. Rutgers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Iowa 76, Rutgers 69
Money line
Top analytics sites peg Iowa as a top-5, top-10 offense. UI’s offensive prowess is enhanced by a crazy-low turnover rate and very good offensive rebounding.
The Hawkeyes need to have an outlier-poor shooting performance to not be a 75% proposition in this game against Rutgers. And that’s what happened when these teams met in the regular season.
The tag on Iowa came down overnight and is now approaching value territory. Bigger-bankroll bettors should consider IOWA (-300). Or better yet, enter the market with a partial-unit play and come back in harder at -280 or better.
Against the spread
Iowa has won four in a row ATS. Peg Friday as a decent enough opportunity to run that streak to five games.
BACK THE HAWKEYES -6.5 (-110).
Over/Under
The Under has hit in three straight Hawkeyes-Knights meetings. And after January’s high-school final, Friday’s total is down some 10 points from those earlier appraisals.
There is a lean on the OVER 144.5 (-107), but just a small one.
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