Fresh off securing the outright Big Ten regular-season title, the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines (27-2, 17-1) travel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena tonight to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (20-9, 10-8). Under coach Dusty May, Michigan is aiming to finish a perfect road record in conference play, a feat not accomplished by a Big Ten team since 1976. The Wolverines take the court riding a 13-game winning streak and boasting one of the nation’s most efficient offenses, averaging 89 points per game.
Iowa, playing their home finale, is looking to rebound from a tough 71-69 upset loss to Penn State, which dropped the Hawkeyes into a tie for eighth in the Big Ten standings. Iowa is led by Bennett Stirtz, who is averaging 20.5 points per game. He undoubtedly will be the primary focal point for a Michigan defense that ranks in the Top 5 nationally. The Hawkeyes are 14-2 at home this season.
Michigan’s size advantage with 7-foot-3 Aday Mara and 6-foot-9 Morez Johnson Jr. is expected to test Iowa, but the Hawkeyes are hoping for a little magic on Senior Night. The stakes are high for each as Michigan looks to continue to make its case for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and Iowa looks to climb in the Big Ten standings and put another Quad 1 win on their NCAA Tournament resume.
Michigan has a record of 11-1 in Q1 games and is 12-1 in Q2. Iowa is 3-7 in Q1 and 7-1 in Quad 2 games. The Wolverines are ranked No. 2 in KenPom and No. 2 in the NET. The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 23 in KenPom and 26th in the NET.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch Live: Michigan at Iowa
- Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
- Time: 8PM EST
- Site: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- City: Iowa City, Iowa
- Network/Streaming: Peacock
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Game Odds: Michigan at Iowa
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Michigan Wolverines (-425), Iowa Hawkeyes (+330)
- Spread: Michigan -9.5
- Total: 146.5 points
This game opened Michigan -9.5 with the Total set at 145.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Michigan at Iowa
Michigan Wolverines
- G Nimari Burnett
- G Elliot Cadeau
- G Yaxel Lendoborg
- F Morez Johnson Jr.
- C Aday Mara
Iowa Hawkeyes
- G Bennett Stirtz
- G Tavion Banks
- G Kael Combs
- F Cooper Koch
- F Cam Manyawu
Injury Report: Michigan at Iowa
Michigan Wolverines
- L.J. Cason (knee) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
- Ricky Liburd (redshirt) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
- Winters Grady (undisclosed) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Iowa Hawkeyes
- Peyton McCollum (foot) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: Michigan at Iowa
- Iowa is 14-2 at home this season
- Michigan is 10-0 on the road this season
- Michigan is 15-14 ATS overall this season / 4-6 ATS on the road
- Iowa is 17-12 ATS overall this season / 9-7 ATS at home
- The OVER has cashed in 17 of Iowa’s 28 games this season (17-11)
- The OVER has cashed in 11 of Michigan’s 29 games this season (11-18)
- Iowa has covered the spread in the last 2 and 4 of the last 5 games against Michigan
- Bennett Stirtz has scored 22 or more points in 4 of his last 5 games and 6 of his last 7 games
- Aday Mara is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game this season but has NOT pulled down 7 or more rebounds in any of his last 3 games
- Elliot Cadeau has 5+ assists in 11 straight games
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Vaughn Dalzell’s (@VmoneySports) Best Bets: First Half Game Total UNDER 69 points AND Game Total UNDER 145.5
“Not to make everyone watching hungry, but we have a classic sandwich spot here for Michigan!
After going to Illinois and smacking the Fighting Illini, Michigan has to travel to Iowa before hosting their arch-rival Michigan State.
Tonight, the Wolverines are an 8.5-point favorite at DraftKings with the Game Total set at 145.5.
The total was 148.5 this morning, so we’re seeing steam toward the Under and I agree completely. Michigan lost one of its bench pieces to an ACL injury, so it’s hard to trust their offense here.
Consider as well that Iowa plays at the slowest pace in the Big Ten AND has been limping to the finish line with a 2-4 record over their last 6 games.
I’m taking the UNDER 69 total points in the first half and UNDER the full game total of 145.5 points as well.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday’s game between Michigan at Iowa:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on Iowa +9.5
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 146.5
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
