Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/19/2023

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL

Where to watch: BTN

DraftKings: Iowa -1.5

FanDuel: Iowa -1.5

BetMGM: Iowa -1.5

Caesars: Iowa -1.5

Iowa: 17-9 (9-6 Big Ten)

Northwestern: 19-7 (10-5 Big Ten)

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Try and find me a team that you would not want to watch more in college basketball than the Northwestern Wildcats. Seriously, good luck trying to find me a team that is as more interesting to watch then the team that just beat back-to-back were ranked opponents. Northwestern is not going to win the big 10 outright. But you figure they continue to win games like they have and somehow find a way to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, things were going to get a little bit more interesting going forward.

 

Because it's during this time of year that we try to figure out which teams would actually be scary contenders in the field of 68. Northwestern would absolutely be at the top of that list when you try and evaluate which teams should not only deserve to go there, but would actually be the true competitors to these other tottering teams. Because think of it this way. Northwestern wins one more game, and they have twenty wins this season. That would suddenly put them in a higher echelon then Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers.

 

You figure if they can find a way to get a 20th victory and be right there along the lines of Purdue and Indiana, that is going to go a long way in determining how good this team can be. Because sure, things were not great when they lost to Michigan a couple of weeks ago, but they have absolutely played their way to being a top 25 team if they haven't already. They're already at a better record than Indiana, they have a better conference record than Indiana, and Indiana somehow found itself as the 14th best team in the country. Northwestern deserves to be in that conversation.

 

“More people need to wake up,” Northwestern guard Boo Buie said. “This isn't luck. It can't be luck at this point.”

 

There’s no way a team can shoot 36 percent from the floor, while the other team shoots 48 percent, and still find a way to win. That’s what Northwestern did. You talk about teams of destiny, this is the kind of team that can carry momentum into the NCAA Tournament and make a run. Maybe not full-on winning the whole thing, or even getting to the Final Four, but this is the kind of team that can absolutely carry momentum to the Sweet 16 because it’s shown that it can hang with any team in the country, let alone all these ranked opponents that they continue to take down in their own conference.

“Purdue was a great win, but it's been building throughout the year,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “If you lose all those games, then you start to have negative thoughts. And we've been through that in the past. It's almost like, let's invent a new way to lose tonight. But now, our guys are finding ways to win because they believe they should, they believe in each other."

 

Iowa handled business last time against Northwestern, winning 86-70 at home back on Jan. 31. This time around, while Iowa has been a constant force in this conference and is also on pace for another 20-win season, Northwestern just has too much momentum, especially at home, to allow anything to happen. Northwestern 77, Iowa 72

Favorite is 6-0 ATS the last six meetings.

Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.

Northwestern is 5-1 ATS in their last six following an ATS win.

PG: Boo Buie

SG: Chase Audige

SF: Ty Berry

PF: Robbie Beran

C: Matt Nicholson

PG: Ahron Ulis

SG: Tony Perkins

SF: Connor McCaffery

PF: Kris Murray

C: Filip Rebraca