The Big 12 Tournament Finals is set, and it’s going to be contested by the last two league tourney champs in the Iowa State Cyclones and the Kansas Jayhawks. Who will take home the crown this Saturday? Iowa State is +6,000 to win the national title, while Kansas is +2,800 to do just that in March Madness.
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Betting Preview for the Iowa State Cyclones vs. Kansas Jayhawks College Basketball Game on March 16, 2019
Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City
When: Saturday, March 16, 2019, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Iowa State Cyclones (odds) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones (22-11 Overall / 9-9 Conference)
Iowa State is a win away from capturing the program’s second Big 12 Tournament title in three years after scoring a huge upset victory on Friday, beating the Kansas State Wildcats in the semis, 63-59. In the win over the Wildcats, Iowa State proved it can survive a vaunted defense by showing off its own brand of defensive tenacity. The Cyclones shot just 42.0 percent from the field, but held the Wildcats to only 34.0 percent shooting. Iowa State played only seven men, and while every Kansas State starter hit double-digit scoring, the Cyclones did not allow the Wildcats’ bench to score. Marial Shayok will command the attention for the Cyclones against Kansas. Shayok, a transfer from the Virginia Cavaliers program, had 24 points in a 77-60 win in Lawrence on Jan. 5 and had 26 points in a Jan. 21 home loss to the Jayhawks. The 3-point shot will be a huge weapon for Iowa State. The Cyclones had 25 total 3-pointers over the last two meetings with Kansas, which allowed 8.7 triples per game back in the regular season.
Iowa State is 5-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last five meetings with the Jayhawks.
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks (25-8 Overall / 12-6 Conference)
Kansas was not going to allow the West Virginia Mountaineers to get by them that easily. The Jayhawks made sure of that by eliminating Bob Huggins’ team with an 88-74 win on Friday. The Jayhawks leaned on Dedric Lawson in the West Virginia game, as the former Memphis Tigers standout notched 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and pulled down eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Lawson got ample help from guards Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson, who had 18 and 13 points, respectively. Grimes has stepped it up of late, as he has scored 30 points in the last two games. He averaged just 8.0 points in the regular season. It’s interesting that Grimes had 19 points in the loss to Iowa State and had zero points in the rematch with the Cyclones, but either way, a good offensive outing will be welcome for the Jayhawks. Lawson, meanwhile, is expected to dominate. He did just that in the second meeting with Iowa State in which he had 29 points and 15 boards to carry his team.
Kansas is 2-0-1 ATS in its last three games.
Writer’s Prediction
Iowa State wins, 77-75.
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