No. 18 Indiana wasn't given much of a chance to win the Big Ten this season and the Hoosiers have been overshadowed by No. 6 Michigan St and No. 10 Maryland despite being two games up on each in the conference. However, Indiana can have the last laugh if it wins one of its next two, thereby clinching a regular season Big Ten title for the Hoosiers.
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HOW THE INDIANA HOOSIERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Critics will say that Indiana has been the beneficiary of a soft schedule and while true, the Hoosiers also have some quality wins. Wins over Notre Dame, Iowa, and Purdue give the Hoosiers legitimacy as one of the better teams in the country and a legitimate conference champion.
In their last game, the Hoosiers were in a battle with the Fighting Illini and actually trailed Illinois at halftime. Yet from that point on it became the Yogi Ferrell show and Indiana ended up running away with a victory. Ferrell shot 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the three point line en route to 27 points to lead Indiana to the 27 point victory.
The Hoosiers also put forth a great defensive effort in the second half, holding Illinois to just 19 second half points and 19-of-48 shooting on the day. Indiana needs to be more consistent in putting up defensive performance like this come tournament time.
HOW THE IOWA HAWKEYES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
No. 8 Iowa was once in prime position to win the Big Ten, but an earlier loss to Indiana sent the Hawkeyes reeling and now Iowa has lost four of its last five. Included in those are losses against Ohio St and Penn St, both teams just mediocre in Big Ten play this season. The Hawkeyes need to right the ship in a hurry and a win against Indiana would stop some of the bleeding.
Jarrod Uthoff was a big part of Iowa's success early on, but his struggles recently have factored heavily into Iowa's skid. Uthoff leads the Hawkeyes with 18.5 PPG, but didn't hit better than 42 percent of his shots from the floor in any of the seven games Iowa played in February.
Included in that is an 8-for-20 showing against Indiana on February 11 that signaled the start of the team's woes. Uthoff is the best player the Hawkeyes have and he must shoot better for Iowa to start winning again.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Hoosiers have a perfect home record this season, but have had issues away from Bloomington. Indiana is just 5-4 SU on the road and 3-6 ATS this season. The under is 5-4 in those nine games and has also hit in five of Indiana's last eight games.
Iowa has been a solid home team this NCAAB season, posting a 13-1 SU record and a 7-4 ATS record in Iowa City. As mentioned though, the Hawkeyes have been reeling recently with five consecutive ATS losses as well as their last three losses all of the outright variety while being listed as the betting favorite.
Indiana has gotten very fortunate with its schedule and normally this would be a great position to fade the Hoosiers in. However, the Hawkeyes' struggles are cause for concern. Still, Iowa has played very well this season and although the Hawkeyes lost to Indiana earlier, they should be able to squeeze out a rejuvenating win.
Iowa 76, Indiana 73
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