Dave's College Basketball Picks, Feb. 1: Iowa at Illinois

Iowa (12-9, 2-6) at No. 19 Illinois (17-4, 5-3)

Line: Illinois -12.5

Iowa took a step back on Thursday, losing to Michigan State at home, 71-56. Early turnovers and missed chip shots helped dig a 13-point halftime hole that Iowa could not climb out of. Clearly, the Wisconsin victory did not provide a long-term lift as it stands as their only victory in the last six contests.

Talk about a game you would like to forget. Illinois shot 29.4 percent from the field, including 2-16 from the three-point line, in their loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Two games back in the conference standings, the Illini need to let that game go and re-focus themselves for the rest of the season.

Against the Spread

Iowa is 9-7 ATS, including 5-4 on the road

Illinois is 11-6-1 ATS, including 7-4-1 at home

The teams are 5-5 ATS against each other in their last 10 matchups

Iowa’s offensive success this year has been tied to three-point shooting. When the shots aren’t falling, they just don’t have a go-to-guy to get it done. Still in the conference race, Illinois needs this one much worse than Iowa. The 14-point spread still falls below Illinois' average Big Ten home margin of victory.

Dave’s Pick: Illinois -12.5

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