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Ohio St. vs. Iowa Free Pick – Odds & NCAA Basketball Predictions

Ohio St. vs Iowa CBB Hoops Handicapping

Ohio State arrives in Iowa on Tuesday, trying to put an awful January behind them against the Hawkeyes who beat them back on Jan. 12. [ad-4468020]

Date/Time: 7 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014
Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
Broadcast: ESPN
Spread: -5.5 Iowa

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Ohio State (17-5) is 2-2 against ranked opponents this season, with both losses coming in Big Ten games in January, including a 84-74 loss at home to the Hawkeyes.

The loss set off a sting of three straight losses before the Buckeyes finished off January 2-1, with a 59-58 victory at No. 24 Wisconsin on Saturday.

Now they will hope that their defense, which held the Badgers without a field goal over the final six minutes, will be enough to contain the Hawkeyes, who are averaging 80.6 points in its last seven games.

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Meanwhile, No. 17 Iowa (17-5) survived a close call at Illinois on Saturday and currently in third place in the Big Ten with a 6-3 record.

Roy Devyn Marble scored 17 points and Gabriel Olaseni collected 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, while Aaron White added 14 points and six boards for the visiting Hawkeyes, who snapped an 11-game losing streak at Illinois dating back to 1999.
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The two continue to provide an effective outside-inside combination as Marble scored 22 points and White put up 19 in the win over Ohio State earlier this month. The Buckeyes gave up 47 second-half points in that one.

It was just the Buckeyes second straight loss after a 15-0 start.

But Iowa also didn’t help itself in the first matchup with the Buckeyes, turning the ball over 17 times.

LaQuinton Ross was the lone bright spot with 22 points in that loss and has reached double figures in six straight. Ross is 5-of-9 from 3-point range and 16-of-19 from the free-throw line in the last three games.

Free Pick: Iowa

The Hawkeyes are well-equipped to handle the Buckeyes if reserves like center Gabriel Olaseni (15 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday) continue to produce.

Olaseni and the rest of the Iowa front court will also need to play a good game on the boards as Iowa is third in the country in rebounding at 43.5 per game and held a 40-31 advantage on the glass in the first meeting.

I expect this one to be an epic Big Ten battle with the Hawkeyes coming out on the winning side of a three-point margin.

By Matt Martz

Matt has returned to CappersPicks.com. The pull was too great. He missed providing his free picks and insider sports gambling analysis to his loyal readers. Please take it easy on him till he gets back into his groove. Cheers!