The Iowa Hawkeyes take on the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines in a Thursday night Big Ten battle. The game tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Wolverines are listed as 8.5-point road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 145.5 points. Let’s dive into a full preview, prediction, and pick for this Big Ten showdown.
Iowa vs. Michigan prediction, preview
The Michigan Wolverines are one of the best teams in the country and a serious national title contender. The Wolverines have only lost two games all season, a tight conference battle against Wisconsin and a late-season neutral-site battle against No. 1 Duke. Michigan is primed for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, this is a tricky spot against Iowa. After this road game, Michigan takes on its arch-rivals and fellow top-10 team, Michigan State. The Wolverines need to stay focused down the stretch and in the conference tournament to avoid losing out on a top seed. The Wolverines are a truly complete team, with no elite individual scorer. They also rank second in the nation in defensive rating, behind only Duke. Michigan has all of the capabilities of winning a national title if everything clicks over the next month.
Iowa is currently projected to be an 8-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology. The Hawkeyes are firmly in the NCAA Tournament field, but an upset win over Michigan could bump them to the 7-seed or even 6-seed line. That would make a big difference in the ease of Iowa’s opening matchup, avoiding the 8/9 game in the Round of 64. It would also mean that Iowa would not have to face a No. 1 seed in the Round of 32. Iowa is coming off a terrible loss to Penn State last Saturday. They need to bounce back to get some momentum going into postseason play. Things don’t get much easier for Iowa, as after this game, they head on the road to No. 9 Nebraska. Iowa could enter the Big Ten Tournament on a three-game losing skid, or they could have good momentum if they pull off one of these two upsets.
Iowa vs. Michigan pick
My best bet for this game is for Iowa to cover the 8.5-point spread. There should be an incredible atmosphere in Iowa City for this game. The No. 3 team is coming to town, but it is also the final home game of the season and Senior Night for three Hawkeyes. Among the seniors being honored are Iowa’s top two scorers, Bennett Stirtz and Tavion Banks. While the two players are both first-year Hawkeyes, it will still be an emotional senior night with their coach, Ben McCollum. Stirtz played for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State, a Division II school, then followed him to Drake and eventually Iowa. Banks was a JUCO player to start his career, before joining Stirtz and McCollum at Drake and following them to Iowa this season. This trio would love to get one more massive win together in front of the Iowa City crowd.
This is also a very tricky spot for Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off a huge road win over No. 10 Illinois. To end the regular season, they face their rivals, No. 8 Michigan State. This sandwich spot on the road against Iowa could be a bit of a flat effort from a team with eyes on winning a national title in a month. Iowa plays at an incredibly slow pace, ranking 357th out of 365 Division I teams in adjusted tempo. That makes it much harder for teams to blow them out. This should be a top-level effort from the Hawkeyes, allowing them to cover the 8.5-point spread on Senior Night.
