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The No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes will host their in-conference rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers, in a Big Ten Showdown on Thursday night.
The Hawkeyes have an 85.4% chance of winning, according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index. However, the Hoosiers control the overall series against the Hawkeyes with a 68-68 record and won the latest upset 89-77 in February 2020.
Match Details
Fixture: Indiana Hoosiers vs Iowa Hawkeyes - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Thursday, January 21, 2021, 9 PM ET
Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes Preview
The Iowa Hawkeyes moved up a spot in the AP Top 25 Poll this week after a blowout win against the Northwestern Wildcats, 96-73.
The victory moved the Hawkeyes into first place in the Big Ten, with a 6-1 conference record.
However, Iowa's head coach, Fran McCaffery, still says it's too early in the season to care about standings:
"I really don't pay much attention to the standing. We're about a third of the way through the schedule and we've got some really good opponents coming up. It really doesn't matter at this time of year."
Coach Fran does not want his team to become overconfident and will continue to encourage them to play as a team.
The Iowa Hawkeyes had eleven players score in their game against the Wildcats. If the franchise can continue to get production from everyone on their roster, they will be fresh enough to continue their impressive play throughout the season.
Key Player - Luka Garza
Luka Garza is leading the country in nearly every statistical category this season but is playing 2.5 minutes less per game than he averaged in his junior campaign.
If Garza can get off to a hot start and inspire the Iowa Hawkeyes to double-digit leads, the 6'11" center will continue to gain extra rest.
2.5 fewer minutes may not seem like much but, over the course of 14 games played this season, that's a total of 35 minutes.
Iowa Hawkeyes Predicted Lineup
C Luka Garza, G Jordan Bohannon, G Connor McCaffery, G CJ Fredrick, G Joe Wisekamp
Indiana Hoosiers Preview
The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off a double-digit defeat to the Purdue Boilermakers, 81-69.
During the game against, the Hoosiers struggled to defend the perimeter. They allowed the Boilermakers to knock down 11 of their 17 three-point attempts.
If the Indiana Hoosiers cannot tighten up their perimeter defense and quickly jump out to contest shots from behind the arc, they will get blown out by the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have the number offense in the country, according to kenpom.com.
Key Player - Trayce Jackson-Davis
Trayce Jackson-Davis is the key player for the Indiana Hoosiers as they try to upset the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night.
The sophomore forward is averaging 20.4 points per game on 53.5% shooting.
If Jackson-Davis can produce 20+ points against the Iowa Hawkeyes and win his matchup against Luka Garza, the Indiana Hoosiers will have a chance at gaining their ninth win of the season.
Indiana Hoosiers Predicted Lineup
F Race Thompson, F Trayce Jackson-Davis, G Aljami Durham, G Rob Phinisee, G Trey Galloway
Indiana vs Iowa Prediction
The Iowa Hawkeyes will defeat the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday night, continuing their winning streak to six games.
Look for the Hawkeyes to put up 80-plus points for the thirteenth time this season against the Hoosiers, a team struggling on their perimeter defense.
We also expect Luka Garza to gain extra rest after the Iowa Hawkeyes get a big lead in the second half.
Where to watch Indiana vs Iowa
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports One.
