USA Today via Reuters
Dec 3, 2020; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) and guard Joe Wieskamp (10) and guard CJ Fredrick (5) and guard Jordan Bohannon (3) come off the court during the second half against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 3, 2020; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) and guard Joe Wieskamp (10) and guard CJ Fredrick (5) and guard Jordan Bohannon (3) come off the court during the second half against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA Basketball action will see a massive clash when two top-ten ranked teams face off the. The #8 Iowa Hawkeyes will face the challenge of holding off the #7 Ohio State Buckeyes. This is one of the biggest clashes in the Big Ten and may have a severe impact on their standings this season.
The Hawkeyes are one of the harder teams to figure out. They have lost two of their last three games, falling to the Indiana Hoosiers in an upset and a close battle with the Illinois Fighting Illini. However, they did pick up a big win over the Michigan State Spartans and will look to continue that momentum into this game.
Luka Garza finished with 27 points Tuesday in a win vs Michigan State bringing his career point total above 2,000 in 113 career games.
The only Big Ten player to debut in the last 30 seasons and reach that mark faster was Wisconsin's Michael Finley, who did it in 107 games. pic.twitter.com/J4uqHsT0bg
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 3, 2021
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The Buckeyes are on a three-game winning streak, winning their last game against the Spartans as well. However, they also scalped the Wisconsin Badgers in a big win. They have been steadily rising all year and will look to leave with a big win.
So which one of these teams slays the other?
NCAA Basketball: The Buckeyes continue their rise?
With top teams like Texas and Villanova incurring big wins, the winner of this game may catapult themselves high up the AP Poll. Both teams have a fast-paced offense, which leads to a fair amount of turnovers. Ohio State gave up 8 turnovers in the second half against Michigan and still left with the win.
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USA Today via Reuters
Jan 27, 2021; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell (32) and Ohio State Buckeyes forward Justin Ahrens (10) celebrate as time expires during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes match up well with the Hawkeyes. While they have no answer for Luka Garza, the Buckeyes could ride a hot shooting night from someone like Justin Aherns to a big win. This is a hard one to call.
READ MORE: Who is in the 2021 NBA Draft Class?
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The Buckeyes will line up with Duane Washington Jr., Jimmy Sotos, Justice Sueing, Kyle Young, and E.J. Liddle. The Hawkeyes will start with Jordan Bohannon, CJ Frederick, Joe Wisekamp, Connor McCaffrey, and Luka Garza.
For our prediction, we are going with the Buckeyes. It just seems like momentum is on their side and they can force the rest of the Iowa team outside Garza struggle. That has been the key for most teams against Iowa, so it may work like a charm here.
