Hello All,
I try to expand upon games in the state of Iowa that I feel I have a good grasp on. Tomorrow, Iowa State plays Northern Iowa and Drake plays Iowa.
I will be on Northern Iowa and Drake.
Why UNI:
Northern Iowa opened as the favorite, and has now gone from -1 to +1.5 I will wait and see if the number continues to rise. UNI is one of the slowest, and most efficient defense teams in the nation. They have only lost games to Nova and UNC to date.
UNI has a unofficial trends:
Jacobson is a very good coach. He has had offers to go to bigger schools, but stays put. They seem to pop up every 2-4 years with a really good team. They weren't great last year, but this year seems to be the team that challenges the Valley title and a berth in the NCAA tourney.They also have a good center that ISU will have to account for.
They also always play ISU and Iowa, the "big brothers" of the state very well. UNI beat ISU two years ago.
Going against ISU is how they play in a defensive, slowed down game. Prohm promised a bigger emphasis on defense, yet when the game is slowed down, ISU struggles. They lost to Cincinnati last year with a similar game plan as UNI. Add the fact that it is a neutral site game, so hilton Magic won't be a factor and I think UNI, as the more experienced coach, team and always with higher motivation wins this.
Why Drake +6.5/7 (with a sprinkle on the money line:)
This is short and sweet. Iowa had expectations of an easy path to the NCAA tourney. They lost their best player/scorer from last year and their PG transferred right before the year. They have been atrocious defensively and have shown to have scoring droughts that keep them out of games. They currently sit at 5-6 (0-2) big ten. They have shown no signs of changing anything and righting the ship.
Turn to Drake with a first year head coach. He has this team playing very well for the players he has. They are short, but know what they do well and exploit that. Iowa has the definite height advantage, but so did Minnesota and Drake led much of that game.Not enough to finish down the stretch, but Minnesota is a much better team than the Hawkeyes. Also add to the mix that this is a neutral court, in Drake's back yard with motivation on high.
I fully expect UNI to come away with a hard fought win, and I think Drake will out play and out hustle the Hawkeyes. but the points are the way to go.
Also Love Oklahoma +7.5 @ Wichita State. OU Freshman is for real and they have a really good mix of experience and youth, with no weaknesses position by position.
Good luck to all tomorrow and moving forward as always.