The No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers travel to take on a solid Iowa Hawkeyes squad as both teams open the Big Ten Basketball season. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Currently the odds for the game have Indiana favored by seven points.
Indiana opened the season as the No. 1 overall team in America, but a loss to Butler a few weeks back took them out of the top spot. However, many people still consider the Hoosiers to be the best overall team in the country. Tom Crean's club will get a chance to prove themselves in the Big Ten, which is the best conference in basketball.
Iowa is no slouch. Last year they were just mediocre at best, going 18-17 overall and just 8-10 in Big Ten play. They've raced out to 11 wins already this season and just two defeats. Those losses came to Wichita State and Virginia Tech. Not the best teams in the country, but solid groups.
This opening for Iowa in the Big Ten is absolutely brutal. They play Indiana today at home before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on No. 2 Michigan next week. After that? A home tilt against Michigan State. But that's how the entire Big Ten schedule is going to be for many teams this season.
Roy Devyn Marble leads the squad at just under 16 points per contest while Aaron White shoots 54 percent overall and averages just under 14 points per contest. The Hawkeyes hit the glass hard but will certainly have to work against Indiana on the blocks.
We all know that Cody Zeller is arguably the best player in the country. But he's just one of five guys averaging double figures on the Hoosiers. In fact, the entire starting five hits for double digits with Victor Oladipo's 13.6, Christian Watford's 12.6 points per game, Will Sheehey's 12.4 points per game and Jordan Hulls's 11.8.
Indiana, then, would seem like a team that averages a lot of points. In fact, they are the top overall scoring team in the country at 89.4 per contest. They shoot the ball at 52 percent per game, which is good for third overall in America. Much like Iowa, Indiana will hit the glass hard and we're looking forward to the battles on the boards between Zeller and the Hawkeyes.
Too much Indiana in this game, but Iowa is certainly on the right track to becoming a better overall club in the Big Ten. Look for them to surprise a lot of people but we don't see it in this game. The Hoosiers have been playing with a chip on their shoulders, winning by an average of more than 36 points over quite lesser competition.
Free Pick: Indiana 81, Iowa 68
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