Ohio State Buckeyes vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 2/4/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Thursday, February 4, 2021

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio State (+4.5)

The Ohio State Buckeyes (14-4) go to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday where they'll meet the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-4). Ohio State opens this game as 4.5-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 161.5.

Ohio State enters this game with a win-loss record of 14-4 for the campaign. They have an average of 77.1 pts per game (67th in the nation) while hitting 45.4% from the floor. The Buckeyes are shooting 34.3% from downtown (141 of 411) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Ohio State is snagging 37.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 222 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 110th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.6 times per game and as a team they commit 17.6 personal fouls per game. On the defensive end, the Buckeyes are able to force 10.7 turnovers every game while drawing 20.4 fouls. They relinquish 32.6% on shots from distance and they are ranked 115th in college hoops in points per game allowed (67.7). The Buckeyes defense is giving up a FG percentage of 41.2% (427 of 1,036) and they surrender 32.9 boards per game as a squad. They rank 254th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 219 relinquished on the campaign.

The Ohio State Buckeyes took the court against the Michigan State Spartans and notched a win by a score of 79-62 in their last contest. Ohio State ended the contest with a 45.5% FG percentage (25 out of 55) and buried 6 of their 18 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Buckeyes converted 23 of 29 shots for a rate of 79.3%. With regard to grabbing boards, they earned 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 8 assists in the matchup while getting 6 steals and 3 blocks. In the matter of the defense, Ohio State allowed 45.5% from the floor on 25 out of 55 shooting. Michigan State distributed 11 assists and had 2 steals in this game. Additionally, the Spartans snagged 33 rebounds (6 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Michigan State finished the game at 74.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 23 of their 31 tries. They also buried 5 of their 24 tries from downtown.

E.J. Liddell is a player who was a major factor for the contest. He scored 20 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 28 mins and totaled 8 rebounds. Liddell walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game. One more player that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Buckeyes was Justice Sueing. He snagged 7 rebounds and also totaled 2 assists. He shot 57.1% from the field for this contest by going 4-of-7 (17 points). Overall, Sueing played for 28 minutes.

Iowa has a record of 13-4 for the season. As an offensive team, the Hawkeyes are shooting 48.4% from the field, which is 39th in college basketball. Iowa has accumulated 1,519 pts on the year (89.4 per contest) and they collect 41.1 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 20.4 times per contest (1st in the nation) and they cough up possession 9.7 times per contest. The Hawkeyes are responsible for committing 15.4 fouls per contest and they shoot 72.1% from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes are ranked 270th in the country in points allowed per game with 74.4. The Iowa defense surrenders 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (157 of 442) and their opponents are converting on 66.0% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 16.5 assists and 37.2 boards per contest, which is ranked 331st and 271st in D-1. They are forcing 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the floor (125th in Division 1).

In their last game, the Iowa Hawkeyes went home victorious with a score of 84-78 when they played the Michigan State Spartans. The Hawkeyes recorded 25 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for this contest. They blocked 5 shots while earning 3 steals for the contest. The Spartans committed 28 fouls in the game which took the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for a total of 35 attempts. They were able to make 23 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 65.7%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, Iowa converted 5 of their 17 tries (29.4%). When all was said and done, the Hawkeyes ended up shooting 28 out of 56 from the field which had them sitting at 50.0%. The Hawkeyes permitted the Spartans to bury 28 of their 70 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 40.0% for the matchup. They went 41.4% from beyond the arc by shooting 12 out of 29 and ended up going 10 of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). Regarding cleaning the glass, Iowa allowed Michigan State to collect 37 in total (19 on the offensive glass).

Luka Garza ended up having an impact for the Hawkeyes for this contest. He buried 9 out of 18 in this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, which had him finishing with 27 points. Garza grabbed 12 rebounds in his 35 mins played and accumulated 2 assists for the contest. An additional guy that was important for Iowa was Jordan Bohannon. He left the arena with 9 points in 20 minutes played by going 2 of 4 from the floor for the game. Bohannon ended up shooting 50.0% from the field while totaling 2 assists and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa (-4.5)

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