Minnesota vs. Iowa Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Sunday, Feb. 11
Minnesota and Northwestern are part of the log jam in the middle of the Big Ten standings with only three games separating second place Illinois and 10th place Iowa. Minnesota enters the game at 6-5, 1.5 games ahead of Iowa and 1.5 games behind Illinois.
The real story of the game may just be how good of a bet Minnesota has been this season. Ahead of today's game, Minnesota has an ATS record of 19-3, the best spread record in all of college basketball.
Can they improve to 20-3 against the spread this afternoon? That's what I'm going to try to answer in this article.
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Minnesota vs. Iowa odds, spread, and total
Minnesota vs. Iowa betting trends
- Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last five games
- Minnesota is 3-17 straight up in its last 20 road games
- The OVER is 4-2 in Minnesota's last six games
- Iowa is 1-5 ATS in its last six games
- The OVER is 12-6 in Iowa's last 18 games
Minnesota vs. Iowa how to watch
- Date: Sunday, Feb. 11
- Game time: 3 p.m. EST
- Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- How to watch (TV): BTN
- Minnesota record: 15-7 (6-5 in Big Ten)
- Iowa record: 13-10 (5-7 in Big Ten)
Minnesota vs. Iowa key players to watch
Minnesota
Dawson Garcia: Minnesota's forward is the best player this team has to offer. He's averaging 6.2 more points per game than anyone else on the roster while also serving as the team leader in rebounds, averaging 6.5. If he's on his "A" game, Minnesota is a tough team to beat.
Iowa
Payton Sandfort: Iowa three-point shooter, Payton Sandfort, is shooting 38.8% from beyond the arc this season and gives this Iowa offense an interesting twist. When he gets the three ball going, he gives the Hawkeyes a leg up on whatever team they're facing.
Minnesota vs. Iowa prediction and pick
Minnesota's spread record isn't just a fluke. The Golden Gophers have legitimately played some fantastic basketball this season, ranking 40th in effective field goal percentage and 44th in defensive efficiency.
Defense is exactly what's going to cost Iowa in this matchup. They enter the game ranking just 209 in defensive efficiency. Oddsmakers and bettors continue to not evaluate Minnesota properly and until they start respecting the Gophers, I'm going to keep betting on them.
I won't hesitate to take the points with Minnesota as a road underdog.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!