Posted on
1/30/2008 5:03:38 PM
NCAA Basketball Betting – Iowa at Purdue
By Charles Jay
The Iowa Hawkeyes (10-11 SU, 7-11 ATS) will try to get to the .500 mark Wednesday night at the Mackey Arena in Lafayette, IN when they take on the Purdue Boilermakers (15-5 SU, 8-9 ATS) in a Big Ten matchup slated to tip off at 7 PM ET.
In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, the Boilermakers are listed as an 11-point home favorite.
Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* IOWA is 3-5-1 ATS in its last nine road games
* IOWA has lost four of its last five road games SU
* IOWA has played 11 of its last 14 road games OVER the total
* PUR has won and covered its last five games
* PUR has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* PUR has won its last six home games SU
* PUR has covered three of its last eight home games
* IOWA has wona nd covered six of the last nine meetings
* IOWA has covered five of the last seven meetings as the visiting team
* IOWA has won four of the last six meetings SU as the visitor
Purdue came to Iowa and won a 67-62 decision on January 16, hitting eleven shots from beyond the arc. And prior to that, the Boilermakers had knocked Iowa out of the Big Ten tournament by 19 points last season. The latest meeting between Purdue and Iowa was part of the Boilermakers' current run of five straight wins/covers, which have included triumphs over Ohio State and Wisconsin as well. That latest win, on Saturday, was a major step forward.
But Purdue shot just 37.5% in that game. And if they approach that figure here, they will be in trouble. In a game like this, tempo is important, and the system Todd Lickliter has installed here, the same he used in his days building a mid-major power at Butler, is designed with that in mind. Iowa does not have an offensive juggernaut, but the Hawkeyes have allowed just 58 points a game, which puts them 10th in all of NCAA Division I. And that kind of slow pace is just what you need to keep things competitive.
Iowa probably won't win, because they are not proficient enough yet from three-point range and at the free throw line (just 64%), but they can take Purdue out of its game a little, and keep it within the number.
We take the points with Iowa, the 11-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.
BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: PURDUE -11
JAY'S PLAY: IOWA
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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)