The No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes are on the road in Big Ten play on Tuesday night as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena for a 7 p.m. ET tip. The Buckeyes are three-point favorites at home with the total at 141 in the latest Ohio State vs. Iowa odds. C.J. Jackson is expected to return to the lineup for Ohio State after missing the Maryland game, while Iowa rebounded from its own loss to Maryland by beating Indiana at home on Friday. With Ohio State looking to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume and Iowa playing for seeding, Tuesday's matchup should be intriguing. Before locking in your own Ohio State vs. Iowa picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $4,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 17 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 107-79 run against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has simulated Ohio State vs. Iowa 10,000 times. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it has an extremely strong pick against the spread, saying one side hits in well over 60 percent of simulations. You absolutely need to see it before you lock in your own picks.
For Tuesday's Big Ten battle, the model knows that Ohio State will be leaning on its defense to slow the pace. The Buckeyes rank 19th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and are 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed. They do a great job of keeping their men in front of them and rotating when beaten to effectively contest shots and make scoring a grind.
Look for C.J. Jackson, Luther Muhammad, Duane Washington Jr. and Keyshawn Woods to pressure the ball on the perimeter and use their speed to close out on shooters. Then Kalen Wesson and Andre Wesson will use their physical strength to keep the Hawkeyes off the offensive glass and get things started the other way.
The Hawkeyes, however, have a great chance of covering the Ohio State vs. Iowa spread as well.
The big reason why Iowa is the No. 8 team in adjusted offensive efficiency is its ability to attack and get to the free-throw line where it can simultaneously score and tax shorter benches. The Hawkeyes rank sixth in the nation in free-throw attempts per field goal attempt and shoot 75 percent from the stripe when they get there.
Against an Ohio State team that typically only runs eight deep, that's a huge potential asset for Iowa. Kaleb Wesson has fouled out five times in Big Ten play this season and has had his minutes dip into the low 20s when he's been nursing four fouls on a number of other occasions. So if Iowa can go right at the talented Ohio State big, it could score the upset on the road.
Who wins Iowa vs. Ohio State? And which side of the spread hits in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Iowa vs. Ohio State spread you should be all over Tuesday, all from the model that has returned more than $4,000 to $100 players the last two years.
