Iowa vs Ohio State Odds, Player Props & Picks (Big Ten Tournament)

• Squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Ohio State meets Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 12
• The Buckeyes ran over the Hawkeyes at home in their only regular-season meeting (82-65)
• See the latest Iowa vs Ohio State odds, player props, and picks for Wednesday’s game in Indianapolis

The Big Ten first-round game on Wednesday afternoon between the #10-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (17-14, 9-11 Big Ten, 16-15 ATS) and #15-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (16-15, 7-13 Big Ten, 11-19-1 ATS) could very well mean the difference between making and missing the 2025 NCAA Tournament for the Ohio State. ESPN’s current projected bracket has the Buckeyes as the last team in the field. The good new for Ohio State faithful is that their team is a sizable favorite in Wednesday’s college basketball odds. In all likelihood, Iowa needs an improbable run to the Big Ten title to earn a berth.

Iowa vs Ohio State Odds

The Buckeyes head into Wednesday’s game as 5.5-point neutral-court favorites and -223 on the moneyline. The Hawkeyes come back as +180 underdogs to advance to the second round, where they would face #7-seed Illinois. The game total is sitting at 154.5 with the over favored at -115.

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Iowa went 16-15 over/under this season while Ohio State was almost identical at 15-16 O/U. The first meeting between the teams this season finished with just 147 points against a total of 156.5. Micah Parrish (13.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG) had a team-high 18 points for Ohio State in the win, while Drew Thelwell (9.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.9 APG) had 20 in a losing effort for Iowa.

That loss to Ohio State was the last game of the season for Iowa’s leading scorer, Owen Freeman, who underwent season-ending surgery on his hand shortly thereafter. The Hawkeyes went 3-7 straight-up without the 6’10 sophomore forward.

Bigger and better things were expected of Iowa this season. They started the year rated 31st at KenPom but sank to 67th after going just 7-13 in Big Ten play. They went just 2-12 against teams ranked in the top 50. Ohio State currently sits 35th.

Fran McCaffery’s team can, per usual, score the ball. Iowa rates 23rd in offensive efficiency. However, every aspect of their defense has been a borderline disaster. They sit 342nd in the nation in two-point defense (56.2%) and 216th in three-point defense (34.4%).

Ohio State has considerably more balance, rating 31st in offensive efficiency and 49th on defense. Perimeter shooting has been their strength all year, hitting at 37.2% from beyond the arc (33rd in DI).

IOWA vs OSU Player Props

Iowa vs Ohio State player props from bet365 at 11:47 am ET. See the full list of betting apps that accept Venmo.

The teams’ (active) scoring leaders, Bruce Thornton (17.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.5 APG) and Peyton Sandfort (16.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.9 APG), have the highest point totals on the board, both at 17.5 O/U. OSU’s Micah Parrish (13.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG) is just behind at 16.5 while Iowa’s Josh Dix is at 15.5 O/U.

A trio of players, Payton Sandfort, Devin Royal (13.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.1 APG), and Sean Stewart (5.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG), are tied with a game-high rebound total of 6.5.

Iowa vs Ohio State Prediction & Picks

• Ohio State -2.5 (-166) at DraftKings

The Hawkeyes weren’t a great team with Freeman in the lineup, and they’ve really struggled since he went down. Their only wins came against #75 Rutgers (84-73 away), #109 Washington (85-79 home), and #56 Nebraska (83-68 away). Four of their seven losses in that span have been by double-digits and they’re just 2-9 against the spread without their star forward.

The Buckeyes’ play over the last six weeks has left a lot to be desired but they had zero issues dusting aside Iowa the first time they met, leading by double-digits for the entire final 18 minutes of the game.

I’m not laying the full five points, but I firmly expect Ohio State to advance and will gladly pay a little extra juice to get the spread down to 2.5 (-166).