Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers
Sunday, 1/29/12, 6:00 PM EST, TV: Big Ten Network
Opening Point Spread: Indiana -11.5
Current Betting Line: Indiana -11.5
Opening Total: 151
Current Total: 150
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Iowa will play three games over the next seven days and will look to snap a two-game losing streak when traveling to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers inside Assembly Hall. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 11 points in their latest loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but allowed 48 points in the final 20 minutes in a 79-73 loss. “We couldn’t get a stop when we needed it,” commented Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery. The team is averaging 73.9 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa is 5-4 ATS as an underdog this year.
The Hawkeyes will be meeting their fifth ranked opponent thus far during the 2011-12 campaign, tallying an even 2-2 mark in the previous four contests. Senior guard Matt Gatens will be the go-to guy Sunday, averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game, shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 86.1 percent from the charity stripe. Iowa is 73-94 all-time in its series with Indiana, but has won 10 of the last 14 meetings, including a sweep in the two-game series the last two years.
Indiana has dropped four of its last five games overall and has gone “under” the total in two straight games. The Hoosiers are averaging 78.4 points per game, which is an 18.3-point improvement from averaging 60.1 points during head coach Tom Crean’s first year during the 2008-09 season. Two of the team’s three defeats this month were by a combined four points, while dropping a 57-50 contest to the Wisconsin Badgers as eight-point road underdogs last time out. Indiana is 6-2 ATS at home this season and the “over” is 5-3 in those contests.
The Hoosiers have really stepped up their defensive intensity the last three games, holding opponents to 37.1 percent shooting from the field and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc. Cody Zeller is still the player to watch on the offensive end, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times. He leads the program in averaging 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Victor Oladipo must step up his play to give Zeller help, averaging just 5.9 points in the past seven games, which is far off from this 12.2-point average through December.
Bettors will likely back the Hawkeyes due to their 7-3 ATS mark versus conference opponents, while the Hoosiers are 3-12 ATS in the same situation.
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