Rider at Northern Iowa

The Northern Iowa Panthers made a nice run in the NCAA Tournament last season. But heavy doses of departures have taken its toll on this team. The memories live on, creating an over-rated team. The loss of Lucas O'Rear really left this team thin, and the results since his ankle injury have spelled that out clearly. The Panthers are just 1-7 since he went down. Rider has developed as the season wore on, finishing with 23 wins and an 11-3 mark in their last 14. They are more than capable to get the win in this one, so the points look good. I'll take them and back Rider.