West Virginia vs Iowa State spread: Cyclones open as 5-point underdogs
By Brian Spaen
The Iowa State basketball team will be underdogs for the first time this season when they head to Morgantown to take on West Virginia.
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Away from Hilton Coliseum, the Cyclones have enjoyed being around a 5-point favorite or higher in all four contests. Their sixth road game (and second true road game) pits them as exactly a 5-point underdog. Two reasons — Iowa State has struggled in the last two games and West Virginia would be undefeated if they didn’t blow it against LSU at home in the second half.
Only one offshore sportsbook has the spread as the rest of them await to be opened. The line has a potential to shrink, but bettors may be siding with West Virginia based on trends. The Mountaineers are 5-0 at the spread in their last five games overall. That also includes:
- Against a team with over a 60 percent winning record.
- Following a straight up victory.
- 4-0 ATS in last four home games against a team with a winning record.
- 4-0 ATS in last four games following an ATS victory.
Iowa State is 4-1 ATS in their last five Big 12 games, and the one loss is because they didn’t cover their 8.5-point spread against Oklahoma State on Tuesday night. The Cyclones haven’t covered in their last two games, and they are just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 Saturday games.
When the total comes out, expect the public to pound on the over. The over is 8-1 in Iowa State’s last nine road games when they faced a team with a winning record, and it’s 9-1 in West Virginia’s last 10 games on Saturday.
Source: Covers