SHARPEST EDGE SPORTS
Illinois Fighting Illini at Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa is 14-12 & 6-7 vs. B1G
Illinois is 14-12 & 4-9 vs. B1G
Illinois is 1-5 on the road
Illinois is 1-5 on the road vs. B1G
Iowa is 12-3 at home
Iowa is 5-1 at home vs. B1G
Illinois is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games
Illinois is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. B1G
Iowa is 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 home games
Illinois got the best of Iowa and a hobbled Peter Jok in the first meeting in their building. Even though the Big Ten’s leading scorer started and played much of the game, a back ailment flared up and was taking its toll. Jok didn’t look right and scored just 10 points that night. The senior guard who was averaging nearly 21 points per game, averaged just 10 points per game in a four-game stretch that led Iowa to keep him on the bench for two games. Jok is back now for the rematch. Iowa has a thing about rematches in the Big Ten; every time Iowa has played a Big Ten opponent for the second time this season, it has played considerably better than it did the first time. The Hawkeyes were thumped at Purdue, 89-67, in their conference opener, then defeated the Boilermakers, 83-78, at home, two weeks later. They lost a double-overtime at Nebraska, 93-90, then came back to beat the Cornhuskers at home, 81-70. After scratching out a win over Rutgers at home, 68-62, they routed the Scarlet Knights in the rematch, 83-63. They also played poorly in a 76-64 loss at Illinois on January 25, allowing the Illini to jump out to a 10-0 lead from which they couldn’t recover. Now it is time for Round 2. The fact that the Fighting Illini are a bad road team, coupled with Iowa’s success in rematches and the lean goes to the Hawkeyes backed by a hostile home crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Iowa Hawkeyes -5 – 7 Units
New Mexico Lobos at Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State is 15-11 & 7-7 vs. MWC
New Mexico is 16-10 & 9-5 vs. MWC
New Mexico is 5-5 on the road
New Mexico is 4-2 on the road vs. MWC
Fresno State is 11-2 at home
Fresno State is 6-1 at home vs. MWC
New Mexico is 2-9-1 in their last 12 following an ATS win
Fresno State is 13-4 ATS in their last 17 home games
Fresno State is 13-3 ATS in their last 16 following an ATS win
Fresno State is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as home favorite
New Mexico escaped with a 78-73 win at The Pit in late December. A lot has changed since then; most notably the loss of the Lobos all- conference, 2nd leading scorer and leader in rebounding, Tim Williams. While the Lobos have been an admirable 3-1 in his absence, they have shown vulnerability with their depth. Their lone loss without Williams was a home affair against San Jose State that they lost by 10. Fresno State is coming off an 18-point destruction of that same San Jose State at home. The Lobos lack of depth showed itself in their victory over Boise State in their last game when they nearly let a big lead slip away. The Bulldogs on the other hand, have 6 guys who average at least 9.2 points per game and 4 who average at least 5.0 rebounds per game. Production like that is hard to ignore. With a league best 6-1 record at home, the Bulldogs get the lean at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.
Fresno State Bulldogs -3 – 3 Units