Iowa vs Northwestern 3/10/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Northwestern Wildcats & 24^th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will square off at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this Thursday afternoon in the 2^nd round of the Big Ten Tournament.

The 13-seed Northwestern Wildcats improved to 15-15 on the season after defeating the 12-seed Nebraska Cornhuskers, 71-69, this past Wednesday. Northwestern trailed by a 39-25 margin at halftime, however, Northwestern was outstanding on the offensive end throughout the 2^nd half and was able to secure the victory after Chase Audige hit a game-winning FT for the Wildcats with :18 seconds left in regulation. Northwestern shot 40.7% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Nebraska to shoot 43.1% from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Wildcats was Pete Nance who had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, & 1 block.

Coming into their game against Nebraska, Northwestern was averaging 72.9 ppg on 42.7% shooting from the field. The Wildcats were averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 34.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Northwestern has been led by Pete Nance (14.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 bpg), Boo Buie (14.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.4 apg), Chase Audige (10.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.8 spg), & Ry berry (7.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, prior to their victory over Nebraska, Northwestern was allowing their opponents to average 68.5 ppg on 42.0% shooting from the field. The Wildcats had a rebound margin of -0.2 and a turnover margin of 3.9.

The 24^th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes finished their regular season with an overall record of 22-9 and earned the 5-seed in the Big Ten Championship after finishing conference play with a 12-8 conference record. Iowa finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 10-1 record with their best wins coming against Virginia & Utah State. Iowa struggled at the start of conference play a bit, losing 6 of their first 10 games, however, the Hawkeyes finished the season strong winning 8 of their last 10 games with wins over Ohio State, Michigan (twice), & Michigan State.

On the season, Iowa is averaging 83.3 ppg on 45.9% shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 35.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Iowa has been led by Keegan Murray (23.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 2.1 bpg), Jordan Bohannon (10.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.7 apg), Patrick McCaffery (10.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.7 apg), & Kris Murray (10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, Iowa is allowing their opponents to average 71.0 ppg on 43.6% shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes have a rebound margin of 1.2 and a turnover margin of 5.2.

The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss, howver, are just 1-5 ATS in thie rlast 6 neutral site games. The Hawkeyes are 5-1 ATS in thier last 6 games overall & 19-9 ATS in their last 28 games following a staight up loss.

Iowa defeated Northwestern in their only matchup of the season after the Hawkeyes defeated the Wildcats by a 82-61 margin at home in late February.

Northwestern has been led by their defense this season which ranks 109^th in defensive FG% & 4^th in turnover margin, however, the Wildcats have struggled at times shooting the ball and come into this matchup ranked just 256^th in FG%. Iowa has been led by their offense, which ranks 5^th in scoring offense & 74^th in FG%, and despite their defense ranking just 228^th in scoring defense, the Hawkeyes have done a great job forcing turnovers as they come into this matchup ranked 4^th in steals per game & 1^st in turnover margin. Northwestern had an incredible comeback against Nebraska, however, as we saw in the 1st half, the Wildcats offense can really struggle and as I just don’t see Northwestern keeping up with a strong Hawkeyes offensvie attack, I think Iowa wins this by around 10 points and covers this spread. Good Luck!