Iowa has lost five of its last six meetings against Michigan, but the Hawkeyes are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against the Wolverines. Perhaps more interesting however is the total, which opened at 146 points even though these teams boast two of the Big Ten’s three most potent offenses.
- Date/Time: January 17, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- TV Coverage: Fox Sports 1
- Sportsbook Odds: Iowa -3.5 / O/U 146
- Michigan vs Iowa Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Hawkeyes are 7-1 SU at home this season, they’ve played Michigan tightly over their last six meetings and the Wolverines have yet to record a SU or ATS victory on the road this season. Add it all together and it equates to Iowa Sportsbook as a 3.5-point home favorite. The total opened at 146 points, but considering the teams have two of the three best offenses in the conference (averaging a combined 157.2 points per game) and they totaled 194 points in their first meeting, the high Sportsbook total might still be too low.
Michigan News & Notes
The Wolverines are off to an 11-5 start and are ranked 18th in the country, but there’s some disturbing trends that are giving pause to their validity as one of the nation’s elite programs this season.
The Wolverines sit third in the Big Ten in scoring and first with a .478 team shooting percentage, but they have lost two of their last three games and following a 75-67 loss at Minnesota on Sunday, they’re now winless SU and ATS in four road games this season.
Michigan also doesn’t get any help from playing at Iowa, where it’s 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings. What you can count on, however, are points piling up: the total has gone OVER in four of Michigan’s last six games, and these teams combined for 194 points in their previous matchup on December 6.
Iowa News & Notes
The Hawkeyes have rebounded from a two-game skid by winning back-to-back conference games. They’ve covered the spread in six of their last eight games and it’s clear how this team earns victories: lots of scoring, ball movement and having one of the best players in the country.
Iowa leads the Big Ten with 79.3 points per game, sits seventh in the country with 18.1 assists per game and dominates the paint behind junior center Luka Garza. Averaging a conference-best 22.3 points per game, along with 10.4 rebounds, Garza has been a force as a throwback-style player who rarely shoots the three, doing all his work inside the arc.
He dropped 44 points in his first meeting with Michigan and will look to have a repeat performance as Iowa tries to break its recent skid of going 1-5 SU in the last six meetings with the Wolverines.
Betting Pick: OVER 146
These teams combine to average nearly 160 points per game, and combined for 194 points in their last meeting. With an Sportsbook total of 146, I’m going to bank again on the OVER.
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Michigan’s last 5 games against the Big Ten Conference.
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Iowa’s last 8 games.
- Iowa is 4-11-1 ATS in its last 16 games against the Big Ten Conference.
