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Iowa vs. Ohio State prediction and odds for Saturday, January 21 (Buckeyes stop the bleeding)

By Reed Wallach

Jan 12, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Brice Sensabaugh (10) makes a game tying free throw during the second half of the men’s NCAA division I basketball game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus DispatchBasketball Ceb Mbk Minnesota Minnesota At Ohio State
Jan 12, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Brice Sensabaugh (10) makes a game tying free throw during the second half of the men’s NCAA division I basketball game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus DispatchBasketball Ceb Mbk Minnesota Minnesota At Ohio State /
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Things look dire for the Buckeyes heading into Saturday’s matchup against Iowa.

Ohio State has dropped five straight games and are quickly off the pace in the Big Ten regular season race. However, this offense is still amongst the best in the country, and season long ranking metrics such as KenPom still see this as a top 25 group.

The Buckeyes will look to snap their skid against an Iowa team at home that is just as good on offense but leave a lot to be desired on defense.

Can Ohio State get back on track at home? Let’s first check out the odds:

Iowa vs. Ohio State odds, spread and total

Iowa vs. Ohio State prediction and pick

Iowa’s defense is a big concern heading into this one, allowing the highest effective field goal percentage in Big Ten play thus far against a set of team’s pale in comparison to OSU’s offense.

Iowa has been able to outpace the likes of Indiana, Maryland and Rutgers (to name a few) with the likes of Kris Murray, but the Buckeyes ability to space the floor and generate open looks from the perimeter will be key. Ohio State is shooting 40% from three in league play, but the team isn’t converting from in close.

The team has begun to feature future lottery pick Brice Sensabaugh more and more in isolation situations, but the results haven’t yielded great results just yet as Ohio State is shooting a ghastly 42% on two-point tries, worst in the B1G. That number will regress to the mean in time, but for Ohio State to find their ceiling, they are going to need to feature more perimeter play and ball movement as the team is last in the Big Ten in assist rate.

Long term, the Buckeyes need to change some schematic parts of their offense to reach the elite level they are capable of , but ultimately I don’t believe this Iowa defense has the defensive capabilities to slow down OSU in Columbus.

The hosts have lost five straight, but by a grand total of 15 points. The Buckeyes are ripe for a get right spot and against this Iowa defense, Saturday seems like the day.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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