Iowa State basketball: Cyclones are double-digit favorites vs Kansas State
By Brian Spaen
Despite Kansas State coming into Ames with a four-game winning streak, sportsbooks were won over by how tough it is to beat Iowa State basketball in Hilton Coliseum.
A couple of offshore sportsbooks open up the spread for Kansas State-Iowa State by making the Cyclones an 11.5-point favorite. A couple of lines (at BetOnline.ag and BookMaker.eu) have already dropped it to a 10.5-point spread while Top Bet still has it at the opening line. Other sportsbooks and Vegas odds haven’t opened yet.
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It’s a bit of a surprise to see Iowa State laying this large of lumber. It makes sense with Kansas State being a paltry 1-3 in true road games and having just an 11-7 overall record, but they come in with four straight wins and own a Big 12-best 4-1 record heading into this week’s action.
Perhaps trends are another reason why Kansas State is receiving a big number. They are 4-1-1 at the spread in their last six games following a win, but are just 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight Big 12 games. Iowa State is 7-1 ATS in their last eight Big 12 games.
Even more damming is the Wildcats’ ATS record head-to-head with the Cyclones. Kansas State is just 3-8-1 ATS in the last 12 matchups and 1-6-1 ATS in the last eight games played in Ames.
A couple more nuggets for the Cyclones: They are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a victory and in their last five home games against a team with a losing road record. They are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall, and interestingly enough are 0-4 in their last four games on Tuesday (they didn’t beat the spread in their win over Oklahoma State to open up Big 12 play this year).
The spread seems pretty big considering Kansas State has been playing better, but the Wildcats also haven’t fared well at Iowa State.