Iowa vs Michigan Betting Prediction 3/3/22

Last updated March 3, 2022

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It's been two weeks since Michigan and Iowa faced off in Iowa City, and a lot has happened since that contest. The Hawkeyes have won all four games since that loss while the Wolverines have split their four contests and lost their head coach for the rest of the season. Now conference tournament seeding is on the line in Ann Arbor with Michigan sitting a game behind Iowa in the Big Ten standings.

Iowa vs. Michigan Betting Pick

The Pick: Iowa Moneyline

This game will be played at the Crisler Center at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

Why bet on the Hawkeyes:

✅ Keegan Murray has been on another level over the past month for the Hawkeyes, scoring 20 points in seven of his last eight contests. He's also shot at least 46 percent from the floor in seven of those eight games, the exception being the game against Michigan. Murray will definitely be motivated to play better and make a stronger impact after an average game in the first meeting. 

✅ Eli Brooks struggled last week with just 12 total points and five total rebounds across two games for Michigan. The guard played heavy minutes in both contests but never really found an offensive flow in either game. With the Wolverines reliant on their starters for offense, Brooks needs to find a rhythm to help keep the Iowa defense honest. 

✅ Iowa loves to shoot the 3-pointer and only two teams have made more than the Hawkeyes' 8.9 3-pointers per game. Iowa has shot at least 37 percent from behind the arc in its last three games and won its last four games all by double digits. The Hawkeyes are peaking at the right time offensively, too, with three straight games above 80 points.

✅ In the four games since last facing Iowa, Michigan has allowed three opponents to make at least 30 percent of their 3-pointers and three foes to shoot at least 40 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes did shoot 44 percent in the first meeting, but made just 4 of 18 from behind the arc. Just a slight improvement from Iowa might be enough to sink the inconsistent Wolverines.

✅ Iowa has won the past two meetings with Michigan when it is ranked and the Wolverines are not. In total, the last seven ranked teams have won the battle between ranked and unranked teams in this series. 

The Pick: Iowa Moneyline

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa ended January in a bad spot in the Big Ten standings and their postseason hopes hanging by a thread. The Hawkeyes have proceeded to win seven of their last eight games, all by double digits, to move up the conference standings in a hurry. The offense has been the catalyst for the Hawkeyes, averaging 79.7 points per game in conference action and shooting 44.4 percent from the field. The defense has been an issue at times, which is why teams are shooting nearly 45 percent against Iowa, but it has held three of its last four opponents under 70 points at least.

There is no doubt that Keegan Murray is the engine that drives the Hawkeyes offense. He's averaging 22.6 points per game, but more impressively, he's shooting 54 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from behind the arc while still leading the team with eight rebounds per game. Patrick McCaffrey and Kris Murray are also averaging at least 10 points per game in conference play, but both of them are overshadowed by Keegan Murray's accomplishments. Jordan Bohannon is the underrated part of the Hawkeyes lineup, averaging 9.8 points per game and is a streaky shooter. 

Michigan Wolverines

It's been a roller coaster ride for Michigan since it last faced Iowa just two weeks ago. The very next game, Juwon Howard had the postgame altercation that led to him being suspended for the rest of the season, and Michigan has alternated wins and losses in its last seven contests. The offense has largely not been the issue recently as the Wolverines have shot 46 percent or better in four of the last five games and have made at least 50 percent of their shots in four of the past seven contests. The issue is a defense that has allowed half of its last six opponents to make half of their shots and the other three shoot at least 43 percent. 

Hunter Dickinson has powered Michigan all season long and he isn't stopping now. He is averaging 20.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in conference while also rejecting 1.5 shots per game. The rest of the starting five is all averaging at least 9.9 points per game, but no one else on the roster is averaging more than 4.2 points per game. Moussa Diabate is the one starter not averaging double figures in points, but the freshman is adding nearly six rebounds per game at least. DeVante' Jones is the playmaker at nearly five assists per game in addition to his 11.2 points per game while Caleb Houstan is the primary secondary scorer at 12.1 points per game.

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Josh Walfish
Josh Walfish is an award-winning journalist who has covered college sports for the past decade. He most-recently was chronicling the UMass Minutemen and now works as a freelancer writer and editor based out of Chicago.