Two defensive teams can make for a thrilling game this Friday in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, as the LSU Tigers and the Iowa State Cyclones lock horns. Check out our preview below of this LSU-Iowa State 2022 March Madness matchup
The elephant in the room here for LSU is that it won’t have the now-fired Will Wade coaching the team in the NCAA Tournament. But if the Tigers continue to stick to the way they have been playing this season with or without Wade, they really have the potential to go deep. LSU can be brutal to opponents because of its defense. Per KenPom, the Tigers are fifth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and is second in opponents’ turnover rate. LSU is so disruptive defensively, ranking first overall in steals rate and 15th in effective field goal percentage defense. On offense, 6-8 sophomore Tari Eason is leading the team with 16.9 points per game while shooting over 56 percent inside the arc.
The Cyclones are part of the NCAA Tournament again a year after winning just two games. That they’re going dancing is already a cause of joy for Iowa State. Then again, the Cyclones are not just here for the attendance. Iowa State, like the Tigers, is a great defensive team. In fact, the Cyclones are 10th in the nation in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency and 18th in 3-point percentage defense. They force plenty of turnovers off steals and are simply just terrific in crippling the attacks of their opponents. On the season, the Cyclones are allowing only 63.0 points per contest on only 51.3 field-goal attempts per game defensively – 11th-best in the nation.
The Under is 5-2 in Cyclones’ last seven games on a Friday.
