Saturday NCAA Basketball Free Pick

18-10 IOWA HAWKEYES VS 15-13 PENN ST NITTANY LIONS

LINE: IOWA -4

LAST 5: Iowa 3-2 SU, 3-2 ATS, O/U 2-2-1

LAST 5: PSU 1-4 SU, 2-3 ATS, O/U 1-4

The Iowa Hawkeyes travel to Happy Valley currently in position for an NCAA bid with 3 winnable games remaining. A loss here puts them firmly on the bubble. The Hawkeyes are big, REALLY BIG. 7’1 Starting center Adam Woodbury patrols the paint, while 6’9 forwards Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff do the majority of the offensive damage averaging 15 and 12 pts respectively. The Hawkeyes big weakness is below average guard play, so they are very methodical on offense, trying to get it down low almost every possession. Their defense give up an avg of 61 pts a game on the season and 51 pts a game on their current 3 game win streak. On the other hand Penn State’s NCAA bubble burst weeks ago and they’re looking to finish strong before joining the NIT field. They are led by talented senior guard D.J. Newbill who averages over 20 pts a game and leads the team in assists and steals. Unfortunately after Newbill they lack firepower with no player averaging double digits. Penn St is so bad offensively their .423 field goal percentage ranks 241st in the nation. In their last 2 losses they have scored just 47 points against Wisconsin and a pitiful 39 against Northwestern.

Iowa is too big, too disciplined, too good defensively, well coached and focused to have problems against an undersized and less talented PSU team. Iowa will control the paint, boards, and tempo. DJ Newbill will take advantage of Iowa’s mediocre back court but Penn St won’t get much from anyone else. Iowa wins by double digits……… THE PICK IOWA -4

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