Wyoming vs Northern Iowa 12/23/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Northern Iowa Panthers (4-6) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (9-2)
December 23, 2021 5:30 pm EDT
The Line: Wyoming Cowboys -2.5 ; Over/Under: 137.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Northern Iowa Panthers and the Wyoming Cowboys meet Thursday in college basketball action from Stan Sheriff Center. Northern Iowa enters this one at 4-6 overall. The Panthers are coming off a loss to Liberty. As for Wyoming, they’re 9-2 so far. The Cowboys fell to Stanford in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Northern Iowa managed a 2-4 run over their first six games, tallying losses to Nicholls State, Vermont, Arkansas and Bradley. Since then it’s been a 2-2 run for the Panthers with wins over Jackson State and Marshall alongside losses to Richmond and Liberty.
In the Wednesday game versus Liberty, the Panthers were down 39-31 heading into halftime. Northern Iowa posted a 43-37 advantage from there but still lost 76-74. Leading scorer Noah Carter put up 20 points and four rebounds in the defeat.
Over on the Wyoming side, they opened up the year with wins over Detroit, AR-Pine Bluff, Washington, Grand Canyon, Hastings, CSU Fullerton, Denver and McNeese State before a loss to Arizona. The Cowboys beat Utah Valley in their next game, then fell to Stanford Wednesday.
In Wednesday’s matchup versus Stanford, Wyoming was down by five points at halftime. Despite a 33-31 edge in the second, the Cowboys fell 66-63. Graham Ike doubled up on 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Hunter Maldonado added 18 points and eight assists.
Wyoming is 16-6-1 ATS in their last 23 overall and 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 as a favorite. The over is 6-2 in Wyoming’s last seven neutral-site games.
Meanwhile, Northern Iowa is 8-23-1 ATS in their last 32 games overall and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 as an underdog. The under is 15-7 in the Panthers’ last 21 overall.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Northern Iowa here. The Panthers stood tall against a pretty good Liberty team on Wednesday, ultimately shooting 49.1 percent from the floor with 31 rebounds. The Panthers have scored fairly well in most games this season; they’ve hit 69 or more points in six of their last eight outings.
As for Wyoming, they hit just 17.4 percent from 3-point range, 53.8 percent from the line and were out-rebounded 41-35 in the Stanford game. I like the Cowboys to bounce back and play better here but I think Northern Iowa can keep pace.
