Baylor is looking to solidify its standing as a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament while Iowa State is trying to stop its recent skid.
Iowa State has lost four straight and six of seven in Big 12 play, and now will be without its best shooter as the team dismissed Caleb Grill from the team earlier this week, a sign of the state of the program heading in to the NCAA Tournament.
Can the Cyclones stay competitive on the road, or will they continue to struggle against Baylor’s high powered offense.
Iowa State vs. Baylor odds, spread and total
Iowa State vs. Baylor prediction and pick
Iowa State’s defense has been its calling card all season, the team is second in the country in turnover rate this season, but the offense is becoming its Achilles heel. The team is outside the top 100 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency on the year and really struggling over the last month.
Since Feb. 1, Iowa State is 329th in effective field goal percentage as the team can’t get anything going from the perimeter, shooting below 30% as a unit. Now the team will be without Grill, who is shooting nearly 37% from 3 on the year.
Without a quality floor spacer, expect the Cyclones, who have broken 70 points once in the last eight games, to struggle to score.
They’ll be up against a Baylor offense that is as potent as any team in the country, but will face a stiff test against Iowa State’s ball pressure defense that is stout against isolation offenses.
Neither team plays particularly fast, and I think with Iowa State’s recent struggles on offense, this game is going to finish under the total.
PICK: UNDER 137.5
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