ISU vs Baylor CBB Picks
The Cyclones are looking to bounce back on the road against a very hungry Bears team on Tuesday night. Iowa State is on the tournament for sure but games like these can really improve their seeding and they are looking to finish strong. [ad-4468020]
Iowa State Cyclones (22-6) vs. Baylor Bears (19-10)
Tuesday March 4
Ferrell Center – Waco, TX
7:00PM
Moneyline: Baylor -140, Iowa State +120
Spread: Baylor -2
O/U: No total currently listed
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Iowa State
On the road they have a losing record this season and that does not play well with the committee. Evening that mark could improve their seed line significantly and maybe even knock out Baylor.
The Cyclones have as productive a trio as any in the conference with Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane and Georges Niang. You gotta love Niang on offense with his old school game but I am worried about the Cyclones if he does not become a bigger contributor on the boards and defensively. He is actually averaging fewer rebounds than last year and it can not all be because of Dustin Hogue.
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Iowa State is just 3-6 ATS on the road and hasn’t covered outside of Ames in a month. This is a high scoring team but their defense is suspect so even if they build up big leads and ultimately win they don’t always put teams away. Plus after a hot start they became a public team for sure and that sucks out value as well.
Baylor
The Bears have been playing much better lately but I think their spot in the tournament is still pretty tenuous at this point.
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If they could grab another ranked scalp it could make all the difference in the world and this team has proven it can respond when backed into a corner. At the very least they need to close the gap on the 15 points they lost by up in Ames a couple of months ago.
In that loss the Bears struggled to work their advantage inside. PG Kenny Cherry was forced to become a scorer and he wasn’t up to the task shooting just 5 for 14, taking one more shot than leading scorer Corey Jefferson and Isaiah Austin combined. If that sort of ratio happens again, in any game, the Bears are going to lose. He is not the scorer that PG Pierre Jackson was last season.
It is no surprise that Baylor is not making anybody any money this season as early expectations were not fulfilled. However, if you have been backing the Bears lately you would be 4-1-1 so perhaps oddsmakers have underestimated the resilience of this team based on past flameout. There is talent and size and that can be a lethal combo.
Spread Pick: Baylor -2
O/U Pick: N/A
Score Prediction: Baylor 77 – Iowa State 71
