#7 Ohio St Buckeyes at Iowa Hawkeyes
Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Iowa City, Iowa
Saturday, January 7, 2012, 3:00 pm Eastern, TV: Big Ten Network
Opening Line: Ohio St -11 1/2
Current Line: Ohio St -11
Opening Total: 141 1/2
Current Total: 141 1/2
Opening Money Line: Ohio St -700 / Iowa +550
Current Money Line: Ohio St -725 / Iowa +575
The #7 Ohio St Buckeyes rebounded from their first Big Ten loss last Saturday at Indiana 74-70 by crushing Nebraska at home Tuesday night 71-40. Now the 14-2 (2-1 in conference) Buckeyes travel to Iowa to take on the 10-6 (2-1 in conference) Hawkeyes Saturday afternoon.
Ohio St coached by Thad Matta, also has a loss at Kansas. Although, star forward Jared Sullinger missed that game for Ohio St. The Buckeyes have wins over Wright St, Florida, Valparaiso, Duke, South Carolina, Miami-Ohio, and Northwestern.
Iowa is coached by Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes have wins over Northern Illinois, Brown, Drake, Boise St, Wisconsin, and Minnesota 64-62 Wednesday. Iowa has losses to Creighton, Campbell, Clemson, Northern Iowa, Iowa St, and Purdue. Iowa leads the series 73-69 against Ohio St but the Buckeyes have won 6 straight against the Hawkeyes, and 8 of the last 10. Iowa leads the series 47-22 in Iowa City.
Ohio St is outscoring opponents 78-55 this season. The Buckeyes are shooting 49.5% from the field including 32.4% from 3 point range. Ohio St makes 68.4% of their free throws. The Buckeyes average 37.6 rebounds a game, and has a rebounding margin of +8.6. Ohio St averages 17.2 assists, 11.7 turnovers, 8.2 steals, and 2.8 blocks a game. Buckeye opponents are shooting 39.5% from the field, including 30.6% from 3 point range. Ohio St is forcing 18 turnovers a game, and opponents only average 8.8 assists a game.
Sullinger averages 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. He leads the Buckeyes in scoring, rebounding and blocks, but he only averages 0.9 a game. Guard William Buford averages 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists a game. He is shooting 36.9% from 3 point range. Forward Deshaun Thomas averages 15.1 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Point guard Aaron Craft averages 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.7 steals a game. He leads the team in steals and assists.
Iowa is outscoring opponents 77-70 this season. The Hawkeyes are shooting 45.7% from the field including 34.3% from 3 point range. Iowa makes 73.6% from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes average 36.8 rebounds and have a rebounding margin of +2. Iowa averages 14.4 assists and 11.6 turnovers a game. The Hawkeyes average 8.4 steals and 2.9 blocks a game. Iowa opponents are shooting 44.4% from the field, including 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes force 15.2 turnovers a game.
Iowa guard Matt Gatens averages 13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. He shoots 34.3% from 3 point range. Roy Devyn Marble averages 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Aaron White averages 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. Melsahn Basabe averages 9.4 points, 6 rebounds to lead the team, and 0.9 blocks a game to also lead the team. Bryce Cartwright leads the team in assists with 4 a game. The Hawkeyes have only player over 6’9″ on the roster, and that is Center Gabriel Olaseni who only plays around 6 minutes a game.
Iowa is 7-4 against the spread and the total is 7-3-1 this season. Ohio St is 6-5 ATS and the total is 6-5 this season. Iowa is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 against Ohio St, including 1-4 at home. Four of the last five games in the series have gone under the total. The Buckeyes are 6-2 ATS after allowing less than 50 points, 7-3 against Big Ten teams, 1-4 in road games with winning records, 1-5 in road game, and 0-6 in Saturday games. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 ATS in Saturday games, and at home, 5-0 against teams with winning records, overall, in Big Ten games, and at home against teams with losing road records, and 7-3 after a straight up win.
Though Ohio St has won 8 of the last 10 games, Iowa has covered the spread in most of those games. This is because Ohio St has been a significant favorite in all those meetings. The Buckeyes are a double digit favorite again on the road. However, this time I think they cover the number against an inconsistent Iowa team.
