TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASKETBALL SELECTION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH
#624 IOWA (-) over Ohio State at 7 PM EST
With confidence off that upset road win at Minnesota, Iowa will stay hot and completely dominate Ohio State on Thursday night. The Buckeyes make the trek to Iowa City nice and fat off back-to-back straight up home wins over Rutgers and Purdue and the home versus road dichotomy in this Big 10 matchup is just too good to pass up.
A quick glance at the History Book shows that the Hawkeyes have struggled a touch in this series posting a weak 6-15 SU record in the last 21 meetings. In their last battle in Columbus back on February 26th, 2019, Iowa (+3) got roasted by Ohio State too by the final of 90-70. Thankfully, at home since 2001, head coach Fran McCaffery’s kids own a solid 122-34 SU and 74-47-4 ATS mark including a blistering 47-19 SU and 42-19 ATS if their opponent arrives off a straight up home win. With those two parameters in play and Iowa facing a foe that played a conference game last, this team trend jets to a lucrative 31-8 SU and 27-9 ATS. Also, since February 4th, 2016, Big 10 single-digit home favorites in conference play own a respectable 83-43-6 ATS mark provided they arrive with confidence off a straight up win. If our “play on” host is facing a foe that scoots in off a blowout victory of 13 points or more, this situation cruises to a powerful 24-6-1 ATS. That bodes well for the Hawkeyes.
This isn’t exactly the best wagering spot for Ohio State either. As an underdog hitting the hardwood with confidence off a straight up win, the Buckeyes own a feeble 34-80 SU and 47-66-1 ATS record. In this situation running the floor against a foe that carries a team won/loss percentage of .501 or better, OSU falls to a miserable 31-80 SU and 44-66-1 ATS and is currently on a weak 11-31 SU and 13-28-1 ATS run in that tightener. Also, on the Big 10 road, Ohio State has been challenged a bit notching a soft 21-32 SU and 19-33-1 ATS record in its last 52 tries. In this spot battling an opponent that owns a conference won/loss percentage of .500 or better, the Buckeyes fall to a woeful 4-22 SU and 4-21-1 ATS.
Even without sharpshooter CJ Fredrick, the Hawkeyes have more than enough to knock off this overachieving OSU squad in their own backyard. Take Iowa. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
TOM’S 100{98f2b46702b964aa2f621cb1b604d81e6a02f7a689ec244db25f4c0c4ad46cb7} 4* CBB BLOWOUT GAME OF THE MONTH
Stryker nailed his 4* Best Bet last Thursday on Wichita State (-3) over Central Florida WON EASILY 75-58 and he is back this Thursday with another 4* that will clean house. An extremely rare 9-0 SU and ATS situation applies to this selection and it comes with an average victory margin of 28.8 points per game. Grab Tom’s 100{98f2b46702b964aa2f621cb1b604d81e6a02f7a689ec244db25f4c0c4ad46cb7} 4* CBB Blowout Game of the Month for $25.