Caitlin Clark and the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes are set for a rematch against the No. 5 Colorado Buffaloes in the 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round on Saturday. The Hawkeyes, who defeated Colorado in the Sweet 16 last year, were tested by the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second round but managed a 64-54 win. The Buffaloes should be entering Saturday's game with a lot of confidence after upsetting Kansas State 63-50 their last time out.
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Hawkeyes are 7.5-point favorites in the latest Iowa vs. Colorado odds, while the over/under is 157.5. Before locking in any any Iowa vs. Colorado picks or predictions, you have to see what women's basketball expert Calvin Wetzel has to say.
Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women's hoops to turn the site's prediction model into picks. Now Wetzel has turned his attention to women's college basketball after teaming up with Aaron Barzilai, a Ph.D. from Stanford. Since the start of the 2021-22 women's college basketball campaign, he is 1384-988 (+371.33 units). Anybody following has seen huge results.
Now, he has set his sights on Iowa vs. Colorado and made his picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Colorado vs. Iowa:
- Iowa vs. Colorado spread: Iowa -7.5
- Iowa vs. Colorado over/under: 157.5 points
- Iowa vs. Colorado money line: Iowa -320, Colorado +250
- IOWA: Caitlin Clark leads the nation in scoring (31.8 points per game)
- COL: Six players scored nine or more points in their win vs. Kansas State
- Iowa vs. Colorado: See picks at SportsLine
Why Iowa can cover
The Hawkeyes are hoping for a better team offensive performance against Colorado. They only managed to hit 36.2% field goals and 22.7% of their 2-point shots against West Virginia, but that is a bit of a fluke for a team that typically outscores its opponents by 20.8 points per game and puts up around 90. Iowa was still able to outscore the Mountaineers despite committing 15 turnovers, and the Hawkeyes should have a cleaner game on Saturday.
Clark put up half of Iowa's points against West Virginia, but expect her teammates to get in the mix as well against the Buffaloes. Hannah Stuelke is averaging 14.1 points per game and put up 12 in the second round. She and teammates like Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter should help boost the Hawkeyes' points total against Colorado. See which team to pick here.
Why Colorado can cover
The Buffaloes have scoring weapons of their own. Aaronette Vonleh tops the team with 14.0 points per game while Jaylyn Sherrod leads the way with 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals. Sherrod contributed nine points, three assists and one steal in Colorado's upset win against Kansas State and is playing a lot of minutes through two games in the tournament.
Colorado's physicality played a big role in holding Kansas State to 50 points in the second round, and they will try to use a similar strategy against Iowa. The Hawkeyes committed a whopping 15 turnovers in their last game, and the Buffaloes will pressure them into the same trap on Saturday. See which team to pick here.
How to make Iowa vs. Colorado picks
Wetzel has analyzed this matchup, leaning Under on the point total while discovering a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He has also released a special Caitlin Clark prop bet. He's sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
Who wins Colorado vs. Iowa, and which Caitlin Clark prop bet is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Iowa vs. Colorado spread hits, all from the expert who's up 371 units since the start of the 2021-22 season, and find out.
