Iona vs. Niagara Prediction and Odds (Gales Make it Nine Straight on the Road)

Iona travels to Niagara in what looks to be a pretty lopsided matchup on paper. On the back of eight wins in a row, Iona will look to keep their hot stretch going against a Niagara squad that has lost three of their last five.

Let’s start with the odds via WynnBET.

Iona vs. Niagara Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

• Iona -8.0 (-110)
• Niagara +8.0 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Iona -340
• Niagara +270

Total:

• 137.0 (Over -110 | Under -110)

Iona vs. Niagara Prediction and Pick

The cut-and-dry of the situation is that Iona is a much better team than Niagara. The Gaels enter this game with a 19-3 record on the season, while Niagara sits at 10-11. Iona is one of the better offensives in the country, averaging 77.1 points (30th), 16.1 assists (21st), and 38.1 rebounds (47th) per game. 

They get their points on volume, not on efficiency. Iona has a 50.5% effective field goal percentage, which ranks 152nd. They’re horrible from the free throw line, shooting only 69.8% from the charity stripe. They aren’t a good three point shooting team, and instead rely on attacking the interior. They get to the free throw line the third-most of any team in the country. If they were better at their free throws, they’d be even more dangerous. Iona does all of this while pushing the pace, checking in at 49th in adjusted tempo.

Niagara doesn’t have an offense that can hang. They average only 66.2 points per game, which ranks 275th. They’re inefficient on the offensive side of the ball at 244th in adjusted offensive efficiency, while playing at one of the slowest paces in the country.

Iona should run away from Niagara easily in this game. The fact that this isn’t a double digit spread is surprising to me, and I’m picking Iona to cover.

PICK: Iona -8 (-110)

You can find and follow all of Jon Helmkamp’s picks here.