Iowa Hawkeyes vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 3/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE

TV: FOX

The Iowa Hawkeyes (20-10) are on their way to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday where they will attempt to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers (25-5).

The Iowa Hawkeyes faced off with Michigan and went home with a loss by a final score of 71-68 in their last game. Iowa walked away from the contest having earned a 39.1% field goal percentage (25 of 64) and knocked down 7 out of their 26 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Hawkeyes made 11 of their 12 shots for a rate of 91.7%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they earned 25 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 15 assists for the game as well as forcing 16 turnovers and having 7 steals. When talking about defense, Iowa allowed 53.3% from the floor on 24 of 45 shooting. Michigan dished out 14 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Furthermore, Michigan totaled 36 boards (6 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Michigan shot 77.3% from the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of 22 tries. They also converted 6 of 12 attempts from 3-point range. With respect to fouls, the Hawkeyes finished with 22 and Michigan accounted for 14 fouls.

Bennett Stirtz is one guy who came through in this matchup. He ended up scoring 21 points on 7 out of 23 shooting. He played 40 mins and also collected 3 rebounds. He ended up shooting 30.4% from the field and also totaled 4 assists.

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Iowa enters this game with a record of 20-10 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 9.3 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Iowa is collecting 29.7 boards per game and has accounted for 454 dimes for the season, which is 118th in the nation in terms of passing. The Hawkeyes are hitting 35.2% on shots from distance (234 of 665) and 77.8% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 75.4 pts per game (191st in D-1) while shooting 49.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Hawkeyes are able to force 13.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.7 personal fouls. They are 32nd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 339 surrendered this year. The Hawkeyes defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.8% (674 of 1,473) and they concede 28.6 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 33.7% on shots from distance while they are 12th in the country in PPG allowed (65.2).

The last time they took the court, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took a loss by a score of 72-52 against UCLA. In relation to rebounds, Nebraska permitted UCLA to grab 35 overall (11 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 34.5% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 out of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 6 of 10 from the free throw line (60.0%). The Cornhuskers permitted UCLA to make 28 of 60 tries from the floor which left them shooting 46.7% for this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cornhuskers went 19 for 49 from the floor which had them shooting 38.8%. In the matter of three-point shots, Nebraska buried 5 out of their 24 tries (20.8%). They were able to bury 9 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 50.0%. UCLA was called for 18 fouls in this game which got the Cornhuskers to the free throw line for 18 attempts. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. The Cornhuskers were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in the matchup.

Sam Hoiberg ended up being important for the Cornhuskers in this game. He earned 12 points in his 34 minutes on the court and added 2 dimes for the game. He made 4 out of 5 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 80.0%, and had 1 rebound.

Nebraska has a win-loss mark of 25-5 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Cornhuskers are connecting on 46.6% from the field, which is ranked 106th in college. Nebraska has accumulated 2,331 pts so far this season (77.7 per contest) and they average 35.3 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 18.1 times per game (15th in college) and they are giving up possession 9.7 times per game. The Cornhuskers are responsible for committing 14.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.6% from the charity stripe.

The Nebraska defense gives up 29.6% from downtown (254 of 858) and their opponents are making 72.4% of their free throw shots. They have given up 14.0 dimes and 34.7 total boards per game, which is 232nd and 209th in college. The Cornhuskers on defense are ranked 15th in the country in PPG given up with 65.7. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.0% from the floor (20th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Nebraska

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