Saturday afternoon in CBB we will see the Northwestern Wildcats travel to Iowa City to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 pm tipoff and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Currently Iowa is favored by 2.5 points with the total being set at 145.5 for the game.
Free Analysis: In Northwestern and Iowa, the Big Ten has two long-suffering programs that find themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble in advance of next week’s Big Ten Tournament. Northwestern finishes up its regular season Saturday as it travels to Iowa in search of a critical win. Tip time is 1:30 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage. The Wildcats go into the contest one game behind the Hawkeyes in the conference standings. The winner of the matchup will be the No. 7 seed for next week's Big Ten tournament and will face the 10 seed in Thursday's opening round, while the loser faces Illinois in the 8 vs. 9 game. NU is coming off yet another narrow loss--their fifth Big Ten defeat by five points or less--falling 75-73 at home to No. 10 Ohio State on Wednesday. Alex Marcotullio's 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds left tied the game, helping rally the Wildcats from 12 points down with under six minutes remaining. However, Jared Sullinger hit the game-winning field goal with 3.1 seconds to go. The Cats must do a better job on the boards in this one after they were outrebounded by Ohio State by a 44-18 count. John Shurna is the leader of this team as he averages 20.1 ppg, plus he leads the team in steals (1.2 spg), blocks (1.6 bpg) and rebounds (5.3 rpg). Shurna is also chasing a Big 10 scoring title as he holds a nine-point lead over Penn State's Tim Frazier for the top spot in the Big Ten scoring race. The Big Ten considers its scoring champion to be its leader in scoring average in league play. Northwestern has not had an individual lead the Big Ten in scoring since Ray Ragelis in 1951. Offensively they are 138th in scoring (69.6 ppg) and 76th in FG% (45.8), while defensively they have allowed 67.6 ppg (195th) on 45% shooting (266th). Northwestern has gone 3-7 SU and 4-5-1 ATS on the road this year. The Hawkeyes, who have missed “The Big Dance” in each of the past five seasons, have won three of their last four contests and have a chance to lock up a No. 7 seed in the conference tournament with a victory. The Hawkeyes finished 5-2 in February and have won four straight at home. Some of their recent improved play can be attributed to increased proficiency from the 3-point line, where they have shot over 40 percent in three of their last four games. Matt Gatens deserves much of the credit, shooting a torrid 64.7 percent (22 of 34) beyond the arc over that stretch en route to averaging 25.3 points. The Hawkeyes (16-14, 8-9 Big Ten) are coming off a 62-53 win at Nebraska on Wednesday. Matt Gatens led Iowa with 16 points. Gatens paces the team with an average of 15.7 points per contest, while freshman Aaron White contributes 10.3 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. Iowa leads the Big Ten with an average of 7.7 steals per game and is third with an average of 72.3 ppg overall and 67.9 ppg in Big 10 play, while defensively they are one of the worst in the Big 10 allowing 71. ppg overall and 71.6 ppg in league play. The Hawkeyes are 13-5 SU and 10-3 ATS at home this year. The Dog is 8-3-1 ATS the last 12 in the series, and while the host is 8-2 SU in the last 10 meetings the host is also 4-6 ATS in those games.
Free Pick: This is a Huge game for both teams and i feel that neither team can afford to hold back in this one, which has me looking at the Over here. Northwestern definitely has the ability to hit 72+ points in this one as they have averaged 66.6 ppg on the road, while Iowa has allowed 67.4 ppg at home and 71.6 ppg in their Big 10 games. The Cats also shoot well on the road, hitting 46% of their shots including a very solid 39.3% from long range. The Cats defensively have not been that great as they have allowed 67.6 ppg overall on 45% shooting, which is 266th in the country. On the road they have really struggled at the defensive end as they have allowed 74.6 ppg on 38.2% shooting. Iowa plays an uptempo game, especially at home where they have averaged 76.4 ppg on 45% shooting and I can really see them hit 75+ points on this one. With this being such a huge game we also should get the FT's at the end of it. I look for 150+ in this one.
Free Picks: Northwestern at Iowa Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Revenge game for Iowa and Northwestern is on the bubble right now plus other factors college basketball bettors need to know about Northwestern at Iowa (Saturday, March 3, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Vegas Runner.