Iowa vs Nebraska Best Bets & Early Predictions for Sweet 16

• No. 4 Nebraska is a 1.5-point favorite over No. 9 Iowa in Thursday’s South Region Sweet 16 matchup
• The Cornhuskers are 12-1 in their last 13 neutral site games
• See below for my Iowa vs Nebraska best bets and early predictions for the Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 is set, with the second matchup on Thursday’s slate pitting No. 4 Nebraska (28-6, 15-5 Big Ten) against conference rival and No. 9 Iowa (23-12, 10-10 Big Ten) in the South Region.

Online sportsbooks are expecting the Cornhuskers to continue their historic run, siding with them as short favorites in the college basketball odds. I’m inclined to agree, and will be backing them against the spread in my Iowa vs Nebraska best bets.

Tip-off for this rivalry clash is set for 7:30 pm ET on March 26 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX, with national broadcast coverage available on TBS and truTV.

Iowa vs Nebraska Best Bets and Early Predictions

• Nebraska -1.5 (-1.5 at Bet365)

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Nebraska is through to their first-ever Sweet 16 in the printable March Madness bracket, after Braden Frager hit a late game-winner to sneak past Vanderbilt over the weekend. Meanwhile, Iowa orchestrated a stunning upset over top-seeded Florida, punctuated by an Alvaro Folgueira’s dagger from deep to punch their first Sweet 16 berth since 1999.

While Iowa boasts an impressive +8.9 average scoring margin, their underwhelming 5-5 finish to the regular season highlights a lack of consistency. Conversely, Nebraska is hot right now. They closed their campaign winning seven of their last ten and are riding a dominant 12-1 straight-up run in their last 13 neutral-site games.

Nebraska possesses elite rim protection and defensive rebounding, spearheaded by Rienk Mast, which will stifle an Iowa offense that relied heavily on perimeter miracles against Florida.

Iowa vs Nebraska Stats

Defensively, the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers may look like mirror images, but the advantage lies with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers led the Big Ten in adjusted defensive efficiency, while forcing turnovers on nearly 20% of opponent possessions. Offensively however, is where the true mismatch lies.

Nebraska scores 77.2 points per contest and boasts a superior +11.3 average scoring margin. The Cornhuskers rank top 15 nationally in 3-pointers made per game, 3-point attempt rate and percentage of points generated off 3-pointers. They have four players who made 50 or more 3s this season, and they splashed 10 triples when they beat Iowa back in February. 

While the Hawkeyes have proven they can hang around in tight games, their offensive lulls—like the mid-game droughts we saw against Florida—will cost them against a Nebraska unit that rarely takes its foot off the gas.

I expect Nebraska’s elite scorers to exploit Iowa’s transition defense. Frager and Mast have been incredibly efficient, and I trust their offensive consistency far more than Iowa’s streaky perimeter shooting against a defense of this calibre.

Then there are the trends. the Hawkeyes beat the defending March Madness championship odds winner as 10.5 point underdogs in the 2nd Round. Iowa is just the seventh team in the last 23 years to play a Sweet 16 game or later coming off a double-digit spread upset, with all six of the previous programs failing to win their next game, while posting a 1-5 record against the spread.

Iowa vs Nebraska Odds

As of Monday night, the best place to bet the Cornhuskers -1.5 is over at Bet365. They’re offering the lowest juice on that side of the spread at -110, while their -130 moneyline is also the best price in market to bet Nebraska simply to win.

From a total perspective, the over/under varies depending on where you look, so make sure to shop around. DraftKings is the spot to bet the under, as their 134.5 point line is higher than consensus. Over bettors are going to want to visit FanDuel, as they have the lowest odds on over 133.5 at -115.

Odds as of March 23, 2026. New Customers can claim the FanDuel Promo Code to bet on the Sweet 16.