Old Dominion Monarchs at Northern Iowa Panthers Betting Odds

Opening Line: Old Dominion +3 / Northern Iowa -3 O/U 112.5

Time: 7 PM EST Friday February 19, 2010 on ESPN2

Tonight in a non-conference game the 24th ranked Northern Iowa Panthers host the Old Dominion Monarchs. This game is much more important to Old Dominion, as they are in 2nd place in the Colonial Conference, 1 game back of Northeastern, and if they do not win the conference a road win over a ranked team will look great on their Big Dance resume. Northern Iowa leads the Missouri Valley Conference by 3 games and a win over a solid non-conference team will only help them get a better seed in the NCAA tournament.

Northern Iowa is coming off a win and they have won 7 of their last 8 games and Old Dominion has won 3 straight and have won 4 of their last 5 games.

This season Northern Iowa is 13-0 at home and 16-8-1 ATS and Old Dominion is 7-5 on the road and 9-14-1 ATS.

Both teams won on Tuesday, as Old Dominion beat Towson 78-67 and Northern Iowa beat Creighton 70-52.

Northern Iowa has a very well balanced team with F Adam Koch (12.5 ppg), C Jordan Eglseder (12.2 ppg), and guards Kwadzo Ahelegbe (10.9 ppg) and Ali Farokhmanesh (9.5 ppg).

Old Dominion only has one player averaging in double figures in F Gerald Lee (14 ppg). He is 6'10" and he will have to have a good defensive game against Panthers 7-foot C Jordan Eglseder (7.6 rpg) and keep him off the boards.

Both teams win with their solid defense, as each team is only giving up an average of 55 ppg.

Old Dominion does only have one player averaging in double figures, but they are averaging 3 more points than Northern Iowa. The Monarchs have to play good D against the 3 scorers of the Panthers and if they can do that they have a good shot at the upset tonight.

Northern Iowa is a good 3-point shooting team, so Old Dominion has to play good perimeter defense and now allow the Panthers to have open looks from deep.

Northern Iowa has yet to lose at home this season.

Old Dominion is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog, and has an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 non-conference games.

Northern Iowa is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 home games, and have an under record of 6-0 in their last 6 home games.

Our Selection : The Panthers haven't been padding bankrolls as of late, but they do hold a perfect 8-0 record at home versus divisional opponents. They'll be without starting Center J.Eglsender, but we think that the posted line of -3 is manageable. Take N. Iowa