The Northwestern Wildcats take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Iowa is favored by 13.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1100. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here’s my Northwestern vs. Iowa predictions and college basketball picks for February 8, 2026.
Northwestern vs Iowa Prediction
My Pick: Iowa -13.5
My Northwestern vs Iowa best bet is on the Hawkeyes to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Northwestern vs. Iowa Odds
| Northwestern Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13.5 -110 | 140.5 -110 / -110 | +700 |
| Iowa Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13.5 -110 | 140.5 -110 / -110 | -1100 |
- Northwestern vs Iowa spread: Iowa -13.5
- Northwestern vs Iowa over/under: 140.5 points
- Northwestern vs Iowa moneyline: Northwestern +700, Iowa -1100
Northwestern vs Iowa College Basketball Betting Preview
Northwestern is circling the drain and quickly hurtling towards the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The Wildcats are just 2-8 in 2026 (3-7 against the spread) and come to Iowa off a 40-point loss at the hands of Illinois.
The Hawkeyes have won five straight and are starting to look like the dangerous Ben McCollum squad everyone thought they’d be coming into the season.
The Cats do one thing better than any team in the country on the offensive end: They protect the rock. Northwestern leads the country in turnover rate, which will be key this afternoon against an Iowa squad that forces turnovers at a top-10 national rate.
Unfortunately, that’s where the good stops on this end. Outside of stud wing Nick Martinelli, the Northwestern attack is a stagnant one of epic proportions.
Martinelli is one of the most important players to his team in the country, and everything Northwestern does on this end centers on him.
Chris Collins runs him off screens, he’s an active roller in ball screens, they look for him on the block and he’s the benefactor of dump offs on back cuts in an offense that beats its opponents with the pass, not the dribble. He ranks top-10 in the conference in usage and is all around excellent.
Iowa doesn’t have a great matchup for Martinelli and is vulnerable inside the paint/mid-range area. Generally, the Hawkeyes like to take away the 3-ball, but Northwestern pretty much ignores that shot on its offensive end.
The Cats are a woeful outside shooting bunch (outside of Martinelli of course), so this game will be an interesting chess match for McCollum on the defensive end. How will he shift his style against a team that takes care of the ball and eschews the land of plenty?
On the other end, Iowa – much like Northwestern – is heavily reliant on one player. Bennett Stirtz also ranks top-10 in the Big Ten in usage and leads the conference in minutes. Stirtz runs point and dictates everything Iowa does on this end of the floor.
The Hawkeyes run a ton of ball screens for Stirtz, and he'll poke and prod the opposing defense off those screens or in isolation. Northwestern has been just okay defending the pick-and-roll this season, and Iowa’s rim barrage could give the Cats some issues.
Stirtz’s size at the point of attack could also be a problem for the smaller Cats perimeter.
This game should be a slog, with both teams looking to play in the half-court. Northwestern has been a bit more up-tempo this season than a standard Collins squad, but it's still on the slower side and forces the second-longest possessions in college basketball.
Iowa crawls on the offensive end by design, basically allowing Stirtz to hold the ball and then break down the defense with under 10 on the shot clock.
That pace certainly favors the 'dog, but Northwestern also just might be a broken team ready for the offseason.
Northwestern continues its struggles and Iowa keeps on winning, extending late to cover the spread.
My Pick: Iowa -13.5
