The Big Ten conference is home to the sole D1 hoops matchup between ranked teams on Wednesday, as No. 24 Rutgers takes on No. 19 Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Scarlet Knights, nationally ranked for the first time in 41 years, are catching 5.5 points on the oddsboard. In the only other conference clash, Michigan is laying 5 points to Penn State at Crisler Center, the total headed south in early wagering. Below are betting odds, tips and trends to help formulate your picks. __Big Ten basketball trends:__ [Purdue a good bet at home](https://www.betchicago.com/big-ten-basketball-betting-trends-purdue-home-court-advantage) ## No. 24 Rutgers at No. 19 Iowa (-5.5, 138) __Tip:__ 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT (BTN) __Here's what bettors need to know:__ This matchup pits the Big Ten's best scoring offense against the top scoring defense. Iowa (13-5 SU, 12-5-1 ATS) averages 79.9 points per game, while Rutgers (14-4 SU, 12-4-1 ATS) allows 58.9. The Scarlet Knights' shot-stopping ability is the force tripping up the betting market. Rutgers enters on a nine-game cover streak in which it has allowed just one opponent to score more than projected, while the UNDER has cashed in seven straight Knights games. The defense is holding foes to averages of 56.6 points and 32.7% shooting during the run. What's more remarkable is seven games have come against Big Ten rivals and another versus then-No. 22 Seton Hall. The stout defensive efforts are reflected in the 138 opening total, third lowest for a free-shooting Iowa team in the last two seasons. The Hawkeyes led the conference in scoring last year and do so again in the 2019-20 campaign behind the center Luka Garza and guard Joe Wieskamp. Combined, the pair post 37.7 points per game, which ranks sixth highest in the country for a duo Since the 2015-16 shot-clock change to 30 seconds, Fran McCaffery's high-scoring Hawkeyes have cashed the OVER in eight of 11 contests with a betting total south of 140 points. This includes an 83-73 victory over San Diego State (137.5 total), the No. 4 team in the AP Poll, on a neutral court in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game in November. Even after road teams went 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in Big Ten action Tuesday night, home teams are 41-9 SU and 31-19 ATS (62%) hosting conference rivals this season. __NCAA Tournament odds update:__ [Parity rules](https://www.betchicago.com/ncaa-tournament-odds-2020-update-parity-college-basketball) ## Penn State at Michigan (-5, 147.5) __Tip:__ 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT (BTN) __What bettors need to know:__ The total slid fast in early betting, down to a consensus 147.5 as of publication from a 150 opener. Penn State (13-6 SU, 9-9-1 ATS) plays at a quick pace, averaging 71.7 possessions per 40 minutes in [KenPom](https://kenpom.com/)'s adjusted tempo ratings, ranking 40th nationally. But the initial offer would have been the third highest for a Pat Chambers-led squad in B1G play since 2015, a bit inflated against a Michigan (11-6 SU, 9-8 ATS) team ranking near the middle of the pack in pace (No. 166) and owning a solid defense. The Wolverines allow 69.8 points per game. The point spread has adjusted in Penn State's direction, from an opener of Michigan -5.5 to -5, but this meeting presents market conditions in which Chambers has continually disappointed bettors. Since taking over the program in 2011, the Nittany Lions top the number just one-third (16-32 ATS) of the time as single-digit road underdogs against an unranked conference foe. The issue is the offense, the team hitting just 39.6% from the floor in these spots. Chambers' squad is 0-2 (Ohio State, Minnesota) in this situation this season. *This story was compiled with the help of queries performed at [SportsDatabase](https://sportsdatabase.com/).* __MORE:__ [College basketball betting coverage](https://www.betchicago.com/ncaa-basketball-betting)