Lipscomb vs. Iowa Prediction, Men's College Basketball Odds & Best Bets (11/3)

Fact checked at 6:49 AM ET, Nov 3, 2026

Odds as of 6:48 AM ET, Nov 3, 2026

Iowa opens its season at 8:00 PM ET on BTN at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and it gets a Lipscomb team on the second night of a back-to-back. The Bisons lost 86-79 at Southeast Missouri State last night, rode three starters for heavy minutes, and now visit a rested Big Ten team. We think Iowa pulls away after halftime and scores the way it did against smaller programs last season, while Lipscomb's guards still put up enough to carry the total over. That's Iowa -20.5 and the Over.

Lipscomb's only game is last night's, a sample of one. Iowa has none, just closed scrimmages and one exhibition. It kept its whole coaching staff from an Elite Eight team but has to replace its top three scorers. Neither team has posted a starting lineup, so the roles below are projected.

Lipscomb vs. Iowa Predictions

• Pick #1: Iowa -20.5 (-110)
• Pick #2: Over 149.5 (-110)

PICK #1: Iowa -20.5 (-110)

Start with Lipscomb's minutes. At Southeast Missouri State, Mateo Esmeraldo played 35, Takai Simpkins 34 and Titas Sargiunas 31, and the Bisons' bench was outscored 51-15. A day later they tip off in Iowa City after the trip from Cape Girardeau.

Ben McCollum's staff has also handled this kind of opponent well. Last season Iowa played seven games in the state against teams from outside the power conferences. It won all seven by at least 19 points and covered 20.5 in six of them. Those wins came from a different roster, led by scorers who have since left, so read them as evidence about the coaches rather than about this team. Iowa's 88-64 exhibition win over Illinois Springfield doesn't prove much either, but nothing in it argued the other way.

At -110 the implied chance is 52.4%. Lipscomb is no pushover. It was picked third in the ASUN preseason coaches poll, and Simpkins scored 22 last night, going 11-for-11 at the line. A new Iowa rotation can stall in its first real game, and a spread this big always carries garbage-time risk once the bench comes in.

PICK #2: Over 149.5 (-110)

The Over needs the same Iowa night plus a Lipscomb offense that keeps scoring after the game is decided. In those seven games last season, Iowa scored 85 or more six times and averaged 92.1 points. Only three of the seven went over this number, though, because the opponents averaged 57.6.

Lipscomb should hold up its end better than that group. It scored 79 last night with four starters in double figures and made 22 of 25 free throws. Devyn Martin had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Kennedy Okpara scored 10 off the bench. The defense was the problem: Southeast Missouri State shot 11-of-20 from three and scored 40 points in the paint, and playing again the next night rarely fixes that.

You need 52.4% at -110. Iowa took 26 of its 53 shots from three in the exhibition, so a cold night from deep would keep its score down and hurt both picks. Lipscomb made only 7 of 22 threes last night and leaned on the free-throw line, so a night without those trips leaves its half of the total short.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.