Iowa Hawkeyes (15-9) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-15)
February 12, 2023 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Minnesota Golden Gophers +11 / Iowa Hawkeyes -11 ; Over/Under: 147
(Get latest betting odds)
The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Williams Arena. Iowa is currently 15-9 after a loss to Purdue on Thursday. As for Minnesota, they’re 7-15 so far following a loss to Maryland last weekend. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa kicked off the season on a pretty good run, going 12-6 over their first 18 games. The Hawkeyes have since gone 3-3, posting losses to Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue with wins otherwise over Rutgers, Northwestern and Illinois.
In the Purdue matchup back on Thursday, the Hawkeyes were drilled 38-21 in the first half. Iowa got better from there with 52 second-half points but still lost 87-73. Leading scorer Kris Murray put up 24 points with two rebounds.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Over on the Minnesota side, they were a sketchy 7-10 at the 17-game mark this season. The Golden Gophers haven’t had any luck since then with losses to Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers and Maryland (and a postponement versus Illinois due to virus issues).
Last weekend versus Maryland, Minnesota faced a rough 41-21 deficit after one half. The Gophers didn’t end up getting any closer on a 40-25 second-half run and lost 81-46. Pharrel Payne was the high man on 14 points and six rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Iowa. Probably staying away, though. It’s tough to trust Minnesota to do much of anything right now; the team is struggling on a seven-game losing streak. During that time the Gophers have scored 61 points or fewer in every outing. As for Iowa, they’re playing fairly well against comparable teams these days and they’ve hit 73 or more points in four straight outings. The Hawkeyes shouldn’t have too much trouble putting up a decent points total in this one.
