Auburn Tigers vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 3/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Auburn Tigers vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Location: Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, AL

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Auburn (+1)

The Auburn Tigers (20-12) are en route to Legacy Arena at BJCC on Thursday where they will attempt to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes (19-13). Iowa opens this matchup as 1-point favorites. The total is 151.

The Auburn Tigers faced off with Arkansas and took a loss by a score of 76-73 in their last contest. Auburn walked away from the contest having earned a 49.0% FG percentage (25 out of 51) and made 5 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Tigers converted 18 of 27 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they collected 18 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 dimes in the matchup while forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and getting 12 steals. In terms of defense, Auburn let their opponent shoot 56.0% from the floor on 28 out of 50 shooting. Arkansas doled out 15 assists and had 8 steals in this matchup. Additionally, Arkansas snagged 35 boards (13 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Arkansas went 73.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of 23 attempts. They buried 3 out of their 11 tries from distance. When talking about fouls, the Tigers finished with 18 and Arkansas totaled 19 fouls.

K.D. Johnson is one player who was a major contributor in this game. He finished with 20 points on 7 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes played and collected 2 rebounds. He went 70.0% from the floor and also distributed 3 dimes.

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Auburn heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 20-12 for the year. They have an average of 72.7 points per contest (155th in the country) while hitting 44.1% from the field. The Tigers are shooting 31.4% on 3-point shots (208 of 663) and 70.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Auburn is grabbing 36.2 rebounds per game and has accounted for 454 dimes for the season, which is 111th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 12.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 19.2 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Tigers are able to force 13.3 turnovers per game and they draw 17.7 fouls. They rank 56th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 358 surrendered on the year. The Tigers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 40.7% (735 of 1,807) and they relinquish 35.1 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 28.8% on three-point shots and they rank 92nd in the country in PPG allowed (67.1).

In their last game, the Iowa Hawkeyes took a loss by a score of 73-69 when they faced Ohio State. The Hawkeyes snagged 20 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 29 in this contest. They gave up possession 11 times, while earning 3 steals in the matchup. Ohio State committed 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for 16 attempts. They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a rate of 81.3%. Pertaining to three-point shots, Iowa made 4 out of 17 tries (23.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Hawkeyes shot 26 for 56 from the field which had them shooting 46.4%. The Hawkeyes permitted Ohio State to make 29 of 59 attempts from the floor which had them at 49.2% for the game. They wrapped up this game 38.9% from downtown via 7 out of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 10 from the charity stripe (80.0%). Concerning rebounding, Iowa permitted Ohio State to collect 26 in total (7 offensive).

Filip Rebraca ended up having an impact for the Hawkeyes in this game. He tallied 20 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 2 assists in this matchup. He knocked down 7 of 12 for the contest for a rate of 58.3%, and had 7 rebounds.

Iowa has a mark of 19-13 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes are hitting on 45.4% from the field, which is ranked 131st in Division 1. Iowa has totaled 2,567 pts for the year (80.2 per contest) and they pull down 36.3 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 16.6 times per contest (13th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 9.9 times per game. The Hawkeyes commit 14.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Hawkeyes defensively are ranked 302nd in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 74.4. They have forced 13.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.4% from the field (350th in the country). The Iowa defense surrenders 36.6% from downtown (226 of 618) and their opposition knocks down 74.4% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 14.5 dimes and 34.6 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 314th and 213th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa (-1)

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