The No. 22 Baylor Bears avoided losing three-straight games after edging the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday to nab their first conference win this season. They’re going to shoot for their second win in a row in the Big 12 when they host the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones, who climbed up the rankings following their win over then No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers.
You can also read our preview of the upcoming matchup between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Iowa State Cyclones vs. Baylor Bears Betting Preview
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco
When: Wednesday, January 14, 9:00PM ET
Line: Iowa State Cyclones (+2) vs. Baylor Bears (-2) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones have remained unscathed after two games of conference play, including yet another too-close-for-comfort win (74-72) over the West Virginia Mountaineers on January 10.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Star forward Georges Niang and Dustin Hogue teamed up and combined for 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Abdel Kader provided the spark for the Cyclones off the bench, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The Cyclones, though, could not pull away from West Virginia despite shooting an amazing 50 percent (25-for-50) from the field, largely because of their 18 turnovers. Against Oklahoma State in the previous game, the Cyclones picked up 12 turnovers.
The Cyclones are ranked second overall in assists with 18.4 dimes a game but also have among the highest assists/turnover ratio with 1.6. They’re going to need to take better care of the leather against the defense of Baylor that saw its last three opponents commit 14.3 turnovers per game.
Niang is Iowa State’s leading scorer with 15.5 PPG. Dustin Hogue, meanwhile, has improved his play of late, upping his season averages of 11.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG to 14.3 PPG and 6.3 RPG, respectively.
The Cyclones are 4-0 ATS in their last four games away from Ames.
Will the Cyclones get to 3-0 in Big 12 play? Create a betting account now and pick your team.
Betting on the Baylor Bears
After two straight losses in open conference play, the Bears finally grabbed a win, outlasting the TCU Horned Frogs in overtime, 66-59, last Saturday. The Bears now head home to host Iowa State, whom they have defeated in seven of last eight games in Waco.
Rico Gathers led the Bears in the TCU game with another monster game, scoring 17 points and pulling down 18 rebounds for his seventh double-double performance this season.
More than his ability to score, Gathers’ strong rebounding is what Baylor is looking for the big man to come up with against the Cyclones. Gathers is among the nation’s leader in rebounds with 11.3 RPG. He poses a big problem for Iowa State inside, as his rebounding will limit Iowa State’s scoring off put-backs .
Iowa State puts up 80.4 PPG thus far this season, 15th in the nation. The Bears, on the other hand, are 14th in scoring defense (56.3 points allowed per game) and seventh in rebounding (41.3 RPG).
On offense, the Bears are looking to bounce back after having their ugliest shooting game thus far this season against TCU. In that game, they made just 29.8% of their shots, including going 1-for-12 from the three-point area. Iowa State’s mediocre defense (65.4 points allowed per game) could see the likes of Taurean Prince (12.1 PPG) and Kenny Chery (10.2 PPG) finish with better shooting clips. Both players scattered 30 points against TCU but shot just 9-for-28 from the field.
Writer’s Prediction
Iowa State wins, 72-68
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