NCAAB: Kansas State Wildcats vs. Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview
Tuesday night will see a couple of Big 12 ranked teams battle it out as the No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats (17-2, 6-1) take on the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones (14-4, 5-2). The Cyclones will host this one at the James H. Hilton Coliseum, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.
After losing to No. 11 TCU a little over a week ago, the Wildcats have won two in a row, beating No. 9 Kansas (83-82) and Texas Tech (68-58). In the win over Texas Tech, Markquis Nowell had a game-high 23 points, while Keyontae Johnson added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Iowa State is trying to bounce back from a 61-59 road loss to unranked Oklahoma State. In the defeat, Osun Osunniyi had a team-high 15 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Cyclones to pick up the road victory.
Iowa State is the favorite playing on their home court. They are -205 to win, while the Wildcats’ moneyline sits at +168. The spread features Kansas State as 4.5-point underdogs, and the over/under for total points is 134.5.
Wildcats Look To Stay Atop Big 12 Standings
At 6-1 in the conference, Kansas State currently holds a one game lead over Texas, Kansas, and Iowa State for the top spot in the Big 12. Trying to stay atop the conference rankings, they will look to pick up the win Tuesday as road underdogs.
Offensively, Kansas State currently sits 33rd in the nation in scoring, averaging 77.9 points per game (80.3 on the road). They are led by senior forward Keyontae Johnson, who is averaging 18.5 points on 54.8% shooting. He is also averaging 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Other major contributors for the Wildcats include Markquis Nowell (16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.3 steals), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks) and Desi Sills (9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds).
Kansas State ranks 114th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 67.5 points per game (76.6 on the road).
Cyclones Hope To Stay Perfect At Home
While Iowa State is 14-4 overall, they have been perfect at home thus far, going 10-0 at the James H. Hilton Coliseum. They will look to keep that perfect home record intact Tuesday as they face their conference foes.
The Cyclones rely on an absolutely suffocating defense, one that ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 58.6 points per game. They are even more dominant at home, where they are allowing just 51.5 points per game.
On the offensive side, Iowa State ranks just 171st overall, averaging 70.6 points per game (75.9 at home). They are led by senior guard Jaren Holmes, who is averaging 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Iowa State has just two others averaging double digits in guards Gabe Kalscheur (12.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals) and Caleb Grill (10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists). It is worth noting that Grill is questionable for this one as he deals with a back injury.
Take Kansas State To Cover
Iowa State is unbelievable at home, but they have been slumping as of late. In fact, they have lost two of their last three games, albeit by just two points in each one.
While their defense is elite, the Cyclones’ offense isn’t anything special. It is just the opposite for Kansas State, who has a great offense and an average defense.
While Iowa State might be able to contain Kansas State’s scoring threats, they are going to have a hard time pulling away in this one. For that reason, the best bet seems to be taking the points. In this case, that means taking Kansas State +4.5 (-106).
