The Western Illinois Leathernecks will travel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 7 and will air on BTN.
The Hawkeyes dismantled UMKC 95-75 on Saturday. Anthony Clemmons played well, putting up 13 points, six assists, and two rebounds for the Hawkeyes. The Leathernecks, meanwhile, are coming off an 84-49 win over Silver Lake on Wednesday. Jabari Sandifer stood out for Western Illinois, accumulating 11 points, seven assists, and three steals.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Iowa, a big 16-point favorite, takes on Western Illinois. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 142 points. The Hawkeyes come into this game 6-2 Straight Up (SU) and 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS). The Hawkeyes are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a superb .398 from beyond the arc. Iowa is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.81.
On the other side, the Leathernecks have 6-1 SU and 3-1 ATS records. The Leathernecks are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 24th in Division I at 1.54. The Leathernecks are a terror on the defensive glass, averaging an impressive 28.9 defensive rebounds per game.
Iowa and Western Illinois have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iowa, ATS Winner – WestIl, O/U – Over
Notes
Iowa is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Western Illinois won its last game by a 35-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Iowa is 4-0. Western Illinois is 5-1 in blowouts this season.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks rank 20th for their offensive rating of 119.5. The Iowa Hawkeyes have a defensive rating of 95.9 (ranked 91st).
The Iowa Hawkeyes average a field goal percentage of 47.0% this season. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are a winless 0-1 when opponents have a FG% of 47.0% or greater.
The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Western Illinois Leathernecks both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Iowa is 80th and 66th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Western Illinois is 11th and seventh in these categories.
Iowa ranks among the best in the nation in assists at ninth (19.5 assists per game). Western Illinois is ranked 69th with 15.9 assists per game.
Iowa ranks 56th in blocks per game with 5.0 and Western Illinois ranks 87th with 4.6 blocks per game.
Iowa ranks 129th in offensive rebounds, while Western Illinois ranks 50th in defensive rebounds.
Western Illinois makes 7.1 steals per game. When Iowa allows 7 or more steals, the team has an even 1-1 record.
