College basketball picks: Ohio State-Iowa prediction, odds, spread for February 16

The Ohio State Buckeyes will hit the road for a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The game will get started at 9:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN2.

My last eight college basketball picks are 5-3 heading into Thursday night. Let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Ohio State vs. Iowa odds

Spread: Iowa -7.5
Over/Under: 152.5
Moneyline: Iowa -315, Ohio State +260

Ohio State (11-14, 3-11 Big Ten) lost 11 of its last 12 games including six in a row, coming off a 62-41 home defeat against the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday. Sean McNeil was the only Buckeye to score in double digits with 10 points off the bench. Metrics show Ohio State is far better than what its record suggests, though it fell to 51st overall in KenPom including 25th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 95th offensively.

Iowa (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten) won four of its last five games including a 68-56 road victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday. Kris Murray went off for 28 points with 14 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes to another victory. Just like plenty of Iowa teams we've seen in recent years, this is a roster completely led by offense. The Hawkeyes rate 34th overall in KenPom with the fifth-rated offense in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is 145th nationally.

The Pick: Over 152.5

It's going to be difficult to bet on Ohio State spreads the rest of the way because we don't know how motivated it will be down the stretch without a ton to play for in a frustrating season. Let's go with the total that could be down a bit after the Buckeyes scored just 41 points in its last time out. It wouldn't be a shocker to see Ohio State come close to doubling that total against a terrible Iowa defense, and the Buckeyes are significantly better on the offensive end than defense.

  
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