Indiana basketball battles unranked Xavier in their first true road game of the season on Friday night. Can the Hoosiers begin the season 3-0?
The Hoosiers won last Thursday’s matchup against Bethune-Cookman, 101-49, and if you read and trusted my last best bet, you could’ve walked away from that game with an extra $90. So far this season, I’m 2-for-2 on betting tips and looking to go 3-for-3.
No .12 Indiana basketball @ Xavier betting odds
Spread: Indiana -2.5 (-110) | Xavier +2.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Indiana -140 | Xavier +116
Over/Under: Over 142.5 points (-112) | Under 142.5 points (-107)
(Odds by FanDuel Sportsbook)
No. 12 Indiana basketball @ Xavier best bet: Indiana -2.5 & Under 142.5
My best bet for the first true road game for Indiana basketball this season would be parlaying the Hoosiers -2.5 and under 142.5 combined points between the two teams.
A $100 parlay bet on IU -2.5 and under 142.5 points would potentially bring home a profit of $239.22. That would be the biggest winning bet of the season thus far.
I would take the Hoosiers to cover the 2.5-point spread for multiple reasons. One is because Indiana has won by three or more points in four of their last five games against Big East opponents. Unfortunately, one reason I’m the slightest bit hesitant is that Indiana has lost nine straight road non-conference games against major conference teams. Nevertheless, I feel confident enough with the Hoosiers this season to cover the spread.
The reason I would bet the under 142.5 points combined between Xavier and Indiana is that I fully expect the game to be a race to 65 points. Whoever gets to 65 points first wins this game. The Hoosiers have held 10 of their last 13 unranked non-conference opponents under 65 points and it would be tough for Indiana to reach 75 points in this game, in my opinion.
My initial prediction for the matchup between the Hoosiers and Musketeers had Indiana pulling out a 73-71 win. My mind has changed a bit on that one. I still have Indiana winning this game on the road, but with both teams struggling to hit shots from deep and both defenses being pretty stout, I think there will be a bit less scoring and Mike Woodson’s defense will shine.
This is one of those games where I feel very hopeful and confident betting on the Hoosiers to cover the spread and not go over even 140 points.