The No. 2 seed Iowa Hawkeyes (21-8) are heavily favored (-14.5) to defeat the No. 15 seed Grand Canyon Antelopes (17-6) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The contest starts at 6:25 PM ET on TBS. Here are some insights into this West Region contest for those filling out their brackets.
The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from FanDuel as of March 16, 2021, 12:10 AM ET.
Betting Odds
| Favorite | Spread | Favorite Spread Odds | Underdog Spread Odds | Total | Over Total Odds | Under Total Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | -14.5 | -116 | -106 | 145.5 | -116 | -106 |
Keys to the Game for Iowa
- Iowa has a winning record against the spread this season, going 14-12 ATS.
- When they play as at least 14.5-point favorites, the Hawkeyes have an ATS record of 3-1.
- Iowa and its opponents have gone over the point total in half of their games, 13 out of 26 matchups.
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Iowa Leaders
- The scoring and rebounding leader for the Hawkeyes is Luka Garza, who accumulates 23.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
- Jordan Bohannon is the Hawkeyes best passer, dispensing 4.5 assists per game while scoring 10.9 PPG.
- The Hawkeyes get the most three-point shooting production out of Bohannon, who makes 2.7 threes per game.
- The Iowa steals leader is Joe Wieskamp, who averages 1.0 steal per game, while its blocks leader is Garza, who compiles 1.7 rejections per contest.
Keys to the Game for Grand Canyon
- Grand Canyon has a winning record against the spread, going 13-5-1 ATS (covering 68.4% of the time).
- The Antelopes have fared well as a 14.5-point underdog, going 1-0 against the spread when they are at least 14.5-point underdogs.
- The Antelopes and their opponents have hit the over in less than half of their matchups this year — 5 of 19 (26.3%).
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Grand Canyon Leaders
- Asbjorn Midtgaard leads the team in both scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.7 rebounds per game).
- The Antelopes assist leader is Jovan Blacksher Jr. with 5.2 assists per game.
- Oscar Frayer knocks down a team-high 1.3 three-pointers per game for the Antelopes.
- Blacksher is the steals leader for Grand Canyon with 1.5 steals per game and Midtgaard leads the squad in blocks with 1.2 per game.
Computer Picks
Pick ATS:
Antelopes (+14.5)
Pick OU:
Under (145.5)
Prediction: Iowa 78, Grand Canyon 66
Predictions are calculated by a data-driven algorithm (raw power score) that ranks head-to-head matchup results within a closed network of games. Prediction confidence is determined by the delta between each team’s raw power score.
Last 5 Games
| Iowa | Grand Canyon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Date | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 3/13/2021 | Illinois | Loss | 82-71 | 3/13/2021 | New Mexico State | Win | 74-56 |
| 3/12/2021 | Wisconsin | Win | 62-57 | 3/12/2021 | Seattle U | Win | 81-47 |
| 3/7/2021 | Wisconsin | Win | 77-73 | 3/6/2021 | Utah Valley | Win | 74-64 |
| 3/4/2021 | Nebraska | Win | 102-64 | 3/5/2021 | Utah Valley | Loss | 59-55 |
| 2/28/2021 | Ohio State | Win | 73-57 | 2/27/2021 | Seattle U | Win | 81-71 |
Against The Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
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