Holy Cross vs Iowa Odds, Picks, Prediction, Best Bets | Women’s March Madness First Round Betting Preview

The Holy Cross Crusaders and Iowa Hawkeyes square off in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday in a 16 vs 1 women's March Madness First Round matchup.

Iowa’s quest to make it to a second straight national championship begins on Saturday. Notably, it will be the penultimate game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Caitlin Clark.

The odds for Holy Cross vs Iowa have been on the move on Friday night into Saturday. Iowa was originally a 36.5-point favorite (-36.5). Early Saturday, the Iowa odds vs Holy Cross were Iowa -37.5, and just shortly before tip off on Saturday, the Hawkeyes are now -39 or -39.5, depending on the book. The total has also moved from over/under 154 to 157 or 157.5.

Let’s break down our Holy Cross vs Iowa picks and Holy Cross vs Iowa best bets in our betting preview.

Holy Cross, the Patriot League champions, led wire to wire in its First Four game against UT Martin. The Crusaders were led by senior guard Cara McCormack, who did her best Caitlin Clark impression by going 7-for-10 from 3-point range in a 23-point effort.

Caitlin Clark’s last dance starts here.

The Hawkeyes have been impressive in the first round of the big dance during Clark's Centure. Iowa is 3-0 against the spread in the first round, averaging 93.3 points per game.

This is the third time in four seasons that Iowa gets to host a first-round NCAA Tournament game. The Hawkeyes have crushed their last two first-round opponents, winning by 40 (vs. Illinois State in 2022) and 52 (vs. SE Louisiana in 2023) points.

I set 40 points as the line here. As for the game total, the Crusaders play a decent pace and have enough shooters to make sure this game ends in the 160s.

Lay the big number with Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes and bet the over, too.