While the world anxiously awaits the Super Bowl Sunday night, there is an interesting Big Ten matchup in the afternoon as the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6) take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-15, 1-11). The Golden Gophers will host this one at Williams Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 pm ET.
Iowa is the heavy favorite in this one, despite being on the road. They are -720 to win, while the Golden Gophers’ moneyline sits at +500. The spread features Minnesota as an 11.5-point underdog (-110), and the over/under for total points is 147.5.
Iowa Looks To Bounce Back From Loss
After winning three in a row, the Hawkeyes lost in their last game as they were downed 87-73 by the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday. Kris Murray tied for a game-high with 24 points in the defeat, but it wasn’t enough for Iowa to pull off the upset.
Iowa will now look to rebound versus the worst team in the Big Ten. Trying to avoid a major upset, the Hawkeyes will have to play better on the road, where they are just 2-5 to this point.
Murray is leading the way for Iowa, averaging 20.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Other contributors include Filip Rebraca (14 points, 8 rebounds), Tony Perkins (11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds), and Patrick McCaffery (11.2 points, 3.9 rebounds).
The Hawkeyes rank 12th in the nation in scoring this season, averaging 81.1 points per game (70.1 on the road). Defensively, they rank 273rd, allowing opponents 74.1 points per game.
Minnesota Looks To Snap Long Losing Streak
At one point this season, the Golden Gophers were 7-8. Since then, they have lost seven straight games and will look to avoid an eighth Sunday afternoon. Minnesota is 5-8 this season at home.
Defensively, Minnesota ranks 152nd in the nation, allowing opponents an average of 69.3 points per game. Their biggest issues are on offense, though, where they rank 349th and average just 61.1 points per game.
Sophomore forward Dawson Garcia leads the Gophers offense, averaging 14.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. The only other two players averaging double digits are Jamison Battle (12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds) and Ta’lon Cooper (10.5 points, 5.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds).
If their offensive woes weren’t bad enough, Garcia is questionable for this game, dealing with an ankle injury.
Take Iowa To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, the Hawkeyes are 7-3, both straight up and against the spread, in their last ten games. They are also 5-1 straight up and 4-2 against the spread in their last six with Minnesota.
As for the Gophers, they are winless in their last seven and just 2-5 against the spread in that time. They are also 0-5 over their last five home games and their last five against Big Ten opponents.
While Iowa has had a disappointing season, they still don’t scratch how dismal of a year Minnesota has had. Expect those trends to continue Sunday.
Especially if they are without Dawson Garcia, the Golden Gophers are a trainwreck on the offensive side. Even though Iowa’s defense is limited, Minnesota won’t be able to keep up with Iowa’s high-octane offense.
Take Iowa to win and cover the 11.5-point spread (-110).
