TDG’s NCAA-B FRIDAY VEGAS *JACKPOT*
- Handicapper
- Team Del Genio
- League
- NCAAB
- Competition
- Iowa vs Clemson
- Release Date
- 03/20/2026 06:25 PM
- Event Date
- 03/20/2026 06:50 PM
- Bet Type
- Point Spread
- Pick
-
Clemson +1.5 (-110)
(BetMGM)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- Our 20* NCAA-B Friday Vegas Jackpot is on Clemson plus the points versus Iowa at 6:50 pm et.
Iowa is one of the two nine-seed teams that were installed as a favorite against their eighth-seeded opponent by the oddsmakers, yet this is a much worse matchup for the Hawkeyes than it was for Utah State playing Villanova. The Hawkeyes play at one of the slowest paces in the country, playing patiently and hoping their opponents eventually lose focus and give up an easy shot. That does not work against Clemson, which ranks 20th in the nation in defensive efficiency. Yet Iowa has experienced a defensive lapse late in the season, and the Tigers get in trouble when their mediocre offense gets exposed against outstanding defensive teams. Clemson has won fifteen of their previous seventeen games when scoring 70 or more points in regulation. The Hawkeyes have given up 70 or more points in four of their previous five games and nine of their previous twelve games. For the year, they are giving up 65.7 points per game on 46.1% shooting and a 33.6% mark from 3-point range. They rank 35th in the country in defensive efficiency. Yet in their previous ten games, they fell to 65th in the country in defensive efficiency. In the last month, their opponents have had a 51.4% field goal percentage and a 41.4% clip from 3-point range. First-year head coach Ben McCollum’s approach short-circuits if his team is not playing great defense. Iowa pressures the basketball and ranks 12th in the nation by forcing turnovers in 21.0% of their opponents' possessions. Yet Clemson does a great job in protecting the basketball and ranks 29th in the country by turning the ball over in only 14.2% of their possessions. If McCollum’s preferred style is not working, then the Hawkeyes simply become future NBAer Bennett Stirtz and an underwhelming supporting cast. The Hawkeyes have lost four of their previous five games after a 72-69 upset loss against Ohio State as a 1.5-point favorite in the Big Ten tournament. They have not covered the point spread in three straight games, and they have then covered the point spread in three of their previous eight games after not covering the point spread in three or more games in a row. Iowa is averaging 74.9 points per game on 49.1% shooting. They had an 18-4 record at home. Yet on the road, they are only 3-8, where they are averaging 70.0 points per game on 48.4% shooting. Defensively, they give up 71.9 points per game on 49.7% shooting. In the last two months, their offense has dipped to 70.7 points per game on 46.8% shooting. The Hawkeyes have covered the point spread in two of their previous seven games on the road when the oddsmakers installed the over/under from 130 to 139.5. They have covered the point spread in three of their previous nine games on the road in March. They have covered the point spread in three of their previous nine games when the oddsmakers installed them as a favorite of up to three points or as an underdog of up to three points. After fifteen games into the season, Iowa has covered the point spread in only two of their previous fourteen games against opponents with a winning percentage from 60% to 80%.
Clemson had won three games in a row before a 73-61 loss against ACC in the ACC tournament semifinals last Friday. Under head coach Brad Brownell, the Tigers have covered the point spread in ten of their previous twelve games when he has five or six days between games to prepare for his next opponent. They are giving up 66.7 points per game on 41.9% shooting. Clemson has covered the point spread in nine of their previous thirteen games on the road against opponents with a field goal percentage of 45% or higher. They have covered the point spread in thirteen of their previous twenty-one games when the oddsmakers installed the over/under from 130 to 139.5. In their thirteen games against non-conference opponents, the Tigers won ten of those games while holding those opponents to 65.8 points per game on 39.7% shooting. They also averaged 79.7 points per game in those non-conference games, more than five points above their season average. Since Brownell became their head coach, they have covered the point spread in seven of their eleven games in the NCAA tournament. They have covered the point spread in nineteen of their thirty games on a neutral court when the oddsmakers installed them as an underdog or pick em. Clemson has covered the point spread in five of their six games played on a neutral court when the oddsmakers installed them as an underdog or a pick em. Play Clemson plus the points.
Good luck - Team Del Genio.
