Indiana Hoosiers vs Wyoming Cowboys Betting Preview

Before the field of 64 can be officially set, we first have to get through the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday. One of Tuesday’s matchups will feature a battle for a No. 12 seed as the Indiana Hoosiers (20-13) take on the Wyoming Cowboys (25-8).

This game will take place at the University of Dayton Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 9:10 pm ET. The winner of this game will head to the East Region with a matchup against No. 5 St. Mary’s looming.

For Indiana, they made a valiant effort in the Big Ten tournament, beating No. 8 Michigan and No. 1 Illinois. They lost in the semifinals, though, to the eventual champion Iowa Hawkeyes.

In the 80-77 loss, Trayce Jackson-Davis had a double-double with a team-high 31 points and ten rebounds. Xavier Johnson also added 20 points.

After beating No. 5 UNLV 59-56, the Cowboys were knocked out of the Mountain West conference tournament by No. 1 seeded Boise State, 68-61.

Graham Ike had 18 points in the loss, while Hunter Maldonado and Drake Jeffries had 17 points apiece.

Indiana comes into this one as the slight favorite. They are -188 to win while the Cowboys’ moneyline sits at +155. The spread features Wyoming +4 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 133.

More Odds

Neither of these two teams have very good odds of winning the National Championship. Indiana is currently +25000 to win it all, while the Wyoming Cowboys are +40000.

By The Numbers

Wyoming had the slightly better offense this season. They rank 122nd in the nation in scoring averaging 71.9 points per game. Indiana ranks 142nd averaging 71.5 points.

Defensively, it is again Wyoming with the advantage. They rank 56th in scoring defense allowing opponents an average of 65.7 points per game. Indiana ranks 69th averaging 65.9 points.

Which Indiana Will Show Up?

It seems like every year the Big Ten gets several teams in the tournament, and every year the conference disappoints. For Indiana, they are trying to get this tournament started off on a good foot.

The big question, though, is which Indiana will show up? Will it be the one that finished the regular season losing seven of its last nine games, or will it be the one that took down the No. 1 seeded Illinois in the Big Ten tournament?

Offensively, a lot rides on sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. This season, he led the team in scoring averaging 18.1 points on 58.9% shooting. He also averaged 8.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game.

The Hoosiers had two others average double digits in Xavier Johnson (12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, five assists, 1.2 steals) and Race Thompson (11.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists)

Wyoming Looking To Earn Respect

The West Mountain conference was able to get four teams into the tournament field this year, but the Cowboys were the last team selected. After finishing the season 25-8 overall and 13-5 in the conference, Wyoming will look to take down the Hoosiers and move onto the Geels of St. Mary’s.

The Cowboys have a two-headed monster on offense in forward Graham Ike and guard Hunter Maldonado. Ike leads the Cowboys in scoring, averaging 19.6 points to go along with 9.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Similarly productive is the senior guard Maldonado. He is averaging 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

Other contributors for the Cowboys include Drake Jeffries (10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds), Jeremiah Oden (7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds), and Xavier DuSell (7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds).

Take The Cowboys And The Points

While a lot of bettors may choose the Indiana Hoosiers just for name recognition alone, don’t sleep on the Cowboys. They have been solid all season long and have two legitimate scorers in both Graham Ike and Hunter Maldonado.

Furthermore, the Cowboys can beat you on both ends of the floor as their defense has been solid all year long.

At the very worst, this should be a close game throughout. For that reason, take Wyoming and the points.

Take the Cowboys +4.