Iowa vs Ohio State prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Thursday, February 3
Iowa vs Ohio State How To Watch
Date: Thursday, February 3
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
How To Watch: FS1
Record: Iowa (14-7), Ohio State (13-5)
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Iowa vs Ohio State Game Preview
Why Iowa Will Win
There might be some big problems over the last two games with the defense, but the Hawkeyes are still moving the ball around well and are teams are better at coming up with steals and big defensive plays.
On the flip side, Ohio State’s defense doesn’t steal anything.
It doesn’t rebound well enough, and now it’s going against a team that can live on the glass for stretches at both ends. Get the defensive rebound – or a steal – and Iowa is off and moving. On the offensive glass, it’s one of the best teams in the country when things aren’t quite going right.
Throw up the threes like Iowa does, and and you had better be able to rebound to stop what’s coming. Ohio State can’t.
However …
Why Ohio State Will Win
Iowa’s defense has had a few issues.
Oh sure, it’s fine and fun when it’s going against Rutgers and Penn State – at least at home – but Purdue did anything it wanted both inside and out in a 83-73 win, and it couldn’t get by Penn State the second time around on the road.
For the Buckeyes it’s going to start with making the extra pass – and not screwing up when it does it.
Again, Iowa is fantastic at forcing mistakes, but when Ohio State is careful with the ball and can keep the turnovers to around 12 or so, it’s okay. When the Buckeyes come up with 17 or more assists they’re 7-0, and they’re 12-2 when they come up with 13 or more.
Iowa – again, for all of the good things it does – allows a whole lot of extra passes for basket. Only seven times has the D allowed fewer than 13 assists.
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What’s Going To Happen
Iowa’s skid keeps on going if it can’t bomb its way out of its rough spots.
It’s doing a great job on the free throw line, but it hasn’t done enough from the field when the threes aren’t falling.
There’s noting pretty about what Ohio State is doing, and it’s having a devil of a time getting the three to drop on a consistent basis, but at home it’ll do enough to keep the score relatively low and make it 10-0 when playing in Value City.
Iowa vs Ohio State Prediction, Lines
Ohio State 76, Iowa 72
Line: Ohio State -5, o/u: 152.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 3.5
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