Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 3/4/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Nebraska (+17)

The Iowa Hawkeyes (18-7) play the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-17) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday. Iowa opens this game as 17-point favorites. The O/U opens at 151.5.

Nebraska enters this game with a record of 7-17 so far this season. They currently have an average of 70.0 points per outing (214th in the country) on 42.1% from the field. The Cornhuskers are shooting 33.2% on shots from 3-point land (193 of 582) and 62.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Nebraska is grabbing 36.8 boards per game and has racked up 320 assists this season, which ranks 101st in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 13.9 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.7 fouls every game. When they are on defense, the Cornhuskers are able to force 13.5 turnovers per game while drawing 17.6 personal fouls. The Cornhuskers are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.5% (620 of 1,493) and they surrender 39.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 285th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 327 conceded this season. They concede 30.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 248th in D-1 in PPG allowed (73.0).

The Nebraska Cornhuskers played the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and took home the win by a score of 72-51 in their last game. Nebraska wrapped up the game having earned a 51.9% field goal percentage (28 out of 54) and knocked down 8 of 24 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cornhuskers converted 8 of 13 tries for a percentage of 61.5%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 37 with 7 of them being offensive. They also recorded 19 assists in the matchup while forcing 13 turnovers and earning 11 steals. With respect to defending, Nebraska allowed 38.6% from the floor on 22 of 57 shooting. Rutgers recorded 6 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. Additionally, Rutgers collected 28 rebounds (6 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Rutgers ended up going 66.7% from the free throw line by making 4 of 6 shots. They made 3 out of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc.

Lat Mayen is a guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He left the arena with 25 points on 9 out of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes and grabbed 5 boards. Mayen finished shooting 81.8% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. Another guy that came through in this contest for the Cornhuskers was Derrick Walker. He collected 6 rebounds in his 24 minutes on the hardwood. He finished the game shooting 63.6% from the floor in this game by connecting on 7-of-11 (14 points). Overall, Walker collected 1 assist.

Iowa has a win-loss record of 18-7 on the season. Iowa has 2,117 points for the campaign (84.7 per contest) and they average 40.4 boards per game. The Hawkeyes commit 15.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 71.3% from the charity stripe. As an offensive team, the Hawkeyes are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which ranks 53rd in college basketball. They are assisting teammates 19.0 times per contest (2nd in Division 1) and they turn it over 9.5 times per game. The Hawkeyes on the defensive side of the court are 238th in college hoops in points given up per game with 72.4. They concede 16.0 assists and 37.3 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 326th and 280th in the country. The Iowa defense allows 34.9% on 3-pointers (226 of 647) and their opponents are knocking down 65.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.3% from the field (74th in college hoops).

The last time they took the court, the Iowa Hawkeyes walked away with a victory by a final of 73-57 when they played the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Hawkeyes snagged 26 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for the contest. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while recording 5 steals in this game. The Buckeyes committed 13 fouls in the game which got the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for 9 shots. They were able to convert 5 of the free throw tries for a rate of 55.6%. In regard to shots from 3-point land, Iowa knocked down 10 of 24 tries (41.7%). In all, the Hawkeyes went 29 out of 62 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.8%. The Hawkeyes allowed the Buckeyes to knock down 23 out of their 51 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.1% in this contest. They shot 29.4% from beyond the arc by connecting on 5 of 17 and ended up shooting 6 of 10 from the free throw line (60.0%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Iowa permitted Ohio State to get 28 in total (2 offensive).

Luka Garza ended up having an impact for the Hawkeyes for the contest. He converted 10 out of 16 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and had 11 rebounds. Garza had 24 points in his 38 minutes of playing time and tallied 1 assist for this game. Another guy that was important for Iowa was Joe Wieskamp. He finished this one with 2 dimes in 35 mins on the court, and he shot 7 out of 13 from the floor. Wieskamp ended up shooting 53.8% from the floor as well as notching 19 points and 6 boards.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa (-17)

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