Wisconsin-Iowa: Dave's College Basketball Picks, Jan. 21

Wisconsin (12-5, 3-2) at Iowa (11-7, 1-4)

Line: Wisconsin -3

Wisconsin comes to Carver-Hawkeye Arena looking to rebound. Up big in the second half and seemingly in control, it all fell apart for the Badgers as they lost to Minnesota in overtime at the Kohl Center.

Iowa is coming off a two-game road trip that included blowout losses to Michigan and Purdue. Prior to that trip, Iowa was actually playing pretty good ball. Using a three-guard offense, Iowa should match up fairly well with the visiting Badgers.

ATS

Wisconsin is 7-8 ATS, including 3-2 on the road.
Iowa is 7-6 ATS, including 3-2 at home.

Wisconsin has had some trouble as of late with turnovers and breaking the press. I look for Iowa to game plan against those weaknesses. Iowa is number one in the Big Ten in defensive scoring at 56.1 points per game, so we know they can cause havoc.

The offense is another matter. It is unclear if Cyrus Tate is going to be back or not for this game. As we predicted prior to the Purdue game, without Tate in the lineup, the opposing defense will expand the perimeter, taking Iowa away from what it wants to do, which is shoot threes.

Not my strongest play of the year, but I’m going take the points and go with Iowa and their 9-1 home record.

Dave’s Pick: Iowa +3

See all of Dave's College Basketball Picks Against the Spread.