The Baylor Bears had it a little easy over their last couple of games, as they defeated two sub-100 RPI teams in the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kansas State Wildcats. If the Bears are looking for a major win to bolster their resume for the Big Dance, they can get one on Wednesday when they travel to Ames and meet Top 9 RPI, the Iowa State Cyclones.
Meanwhile, Kentucky resumes its chase for a historic undefeated season as the Wildcats pay Starkville a visit also on Wednesday to take on Mississippi State. You can read a preview of that game here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Baylor Bears vs. Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview
Where: Hilton Coliseum, Ames
When: Wednesday, February 25, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Baylor Bears vs. Iowa State Cyclones – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Baylor Bears
Behind their soul-crushing defense and fantastic rebounding, the Bears picked up their second win in a row by beating the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, 69-42. Up ahead is a rematch with the Cyclones, whom Baylor dealt a 74-73 loss on January 14.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The victory over the Wildcats was a typical one for Baylor. The Bears won the rebounding battle (36-29) and held the Wildcats down to just 38.3 percent (18-for-37) shooting from the field.
Defense and rebounding have carried the Bears to a 20-7 overall record this season. Baylor is 19th in the nation in defense with 58.8 points allowed per game on 39.6% shooting and fifth in rebounding with 40.5 RPG.
All talk of the Bears’ rebounding prowess should begin and end with Rico Gathers, who despite being an undersized 6-8 power forward, is leading the nation in rebounds with 12.1 RPG. In the Bears’ win over Iowa State in their first meeting, Gathers went beast mode on the glass, grabbing 15 of the team’s 44 total boards. He also finished the game with 14 points. In the Kansas State game, Gathers imposed his will inside again, coming up with 13 points and 10 rebounds, his 14th double-double of the season. Expect him to come up with big numbers again against the Cyclones, who are only pulling down 36.5 RPG.
After scoring just five points against Iowa State back in January, Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in each of Baylor’s next 11 games. That streak includes his 14-point performance in the win over the Wildcats. Prince is the Bears’ leading scorer, averaging 13.1 PPG.
The under is 3-1 in the Bears’ last four road games.
Create a betting account now and start sharpening your betting skills for the approaching March Madness.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones
When the Cyclones beat the Texas Longhorns 86-77 on Saturday, they did what the program had previously failed to do since the 2005-2006 season: win back-to-back conference road games. With the win, the Cyclones are now 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games overall.
Texas presented almost the same challenges Baylor gave the Cyclones in their first meeting. Like Baylor, the Longhorns are also a defensively oriented and a solid rebounding team. The Cyclones, however, were able to overcome those attributes by simply making their outside shots. Iowa State knocked down 12 of its 21 three-point attempts (57.1%) against the Longhorns.
Although the Bears are among the best in defending against the three ball—opponents make just 28.8% of their three-point shots—Iowa State won’t hesitate to pull the trigger when given space. The Cyclones are making 7.9 triples per game on 36.5% shooting. They’ve fared even better over their last three games, burying 8.0 threes per game on 42.1% shooting during that stretch.
The Cyclones have four players that shoot 40% or better from the three-point area. Georges Niang, the team’s leader in scoring with 14.6 PPG, is averaging 40.5% on his threes.
That doesn’t mean Iowa State will have to live and die from the three-point region. The Cyclones can also go inside and challenge Baylor’s susceptible rim protection. Baylor opponents are making 56.9% of their shots at the rim.
Writer’s Prediction
Iowa State wins, 75-69.
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