The final week of February has because of that, tensions have never been higher among college basketball teams during the 2023-24 season. Chances to solidify positioning for upcoming conference tournaments are waning extremely thin, making each game of paramount importance.
Amid that backdrop, two meetings of top-20 teams grace Thursday’s schedule. For bettors, it should be an interesting evening due to the quality of the talent on the floor and what each team has at stake.
Iowa at Indiana details, handicapping
The No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes face the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers for the second time on the current regular season albeit in a different venue. Iowa trails Ohio State by a game for the potential Big Ten regular-season title.
- Tip-off: 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
- Venue: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
- Broadcast: Peacock
- Previous matchup: Jan. 13, 2024, at Iowa, 84-57 Hawkeyes win
- Last 5 games: Indiana LWWWL, Iowa WWWLW
- Average points for: Indiana 80.3, Iowa 92.7
- Average points against: Indiana 64, Iowa 70.8
- Indiana record: 21-4 overall, 13-0 at home, 12-3 Big Ten
- Iowa record: 23-3 overall, 7-2 on the road, 12-2 Big Ten
The Hawkeyes lead this series 54-22 all-time and have won each of the past two games leading to claiming victory in seven of the last 10. However, this series is split evenly in 36 games played in Bloomington.
Both teams enter Thursday’s game relatively healthy for this point in the season. Indiana recently got the services of Sydney Parrish, who had missed several games due to injury, back in its rotation. Parrish might still be limited, however, as she only played six minutes during the Hoosiers’ last game. Indiana might need her to contribute more minutes if the Hoosiers are to cover in this contest.
Iowa comes in with the nation’s top scoring offense, shooting over 50% from the field overall and leading the country in assists per game. The Hawkeyes also average the seventh-most defensive rebounds in the country. If there might be any team that could stick with Iowa, though, it could be Indiana.
The Hoosiers have the nation’s best shooting percentage, including shooting a national-best 41% from 3-point range. Thus, the over is in play for this contest based on those numbers.
Utah at UCLA details, handicapping
The No. 18 Utah Utes pay a visit to the No. 12 UCLA Bruins later on Thursday with both teams hanging onto an outside hope of nabbing the Pac-12’s regular-season title. Both squads will have three games left to play on the season and currently trail league leader Stanford by three games.
- Tip-off: 9:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
- Venue: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
- Broadcast: ESPN
- Previous matchup: Jan. 22, 2024, at Utah, 94-81 Utes win in overtime
- Last 5 games: UCLA LWWLW, Utah WWLWW
- Average points for: UCLA 80.2, Utah 81.3
- Average points against: UCLA 62.7, Utah 60.4
- UCLA record: 20-5 overall, 12-1 at home, 9-5 Pac-12
- Utah record: 19-7 overall, 7-4 on the road, 9-5 Pac-12
UCLA leads this series 18-5 and has won seven of the last 10 meetings. However, those three losses in that stretch have all come over the past three games in the series. Still, the Bruins have claimed eight of 10 games in Los Angeles against Utah.
Neither team has an advantage in overall scoring but where the Utes do stand out is in shooting the 3-ball. Only one team in the country averages more made 3-point attempts per game than Utah. UCLA counters that with some of the nation’s best offensive rebounding and second-chance points averages.
Like with the early game, the over is in play on the total for this contest due to both teams’ offensive prowess.
