Iowa State basketball: Cyclones open as huge favorites over Texas Tech
By Brian Spaen
Iowa State basketball wasn’t even double-digit favorites heading into Lubbock two weeks ago despite Texas Tech not even winning a Big 12 game. That was ultimately for good reason — the Cyclones ended up losing. However, sportsbooks won’t have any hope for the Red Raiders taking on Hilton Magic.
The first offshore sportsbook, BetOnline.ag, has opened up Iowa State as a 17.5-point favorite on Saturday afternoon. It’s an aggressive line considering the Cyclones have only blown out one Big 12 team at home, but that was their latest outing against TCU. That 83-66 decision, along with blowing out Texas a game prior before nearly choking the entire lead away, are probably the reasons why ISU is spotted with a 17-point spread.
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Texas Tech has been able to cover more often. They’ve beat the spread in three of the last five meetings, including the previous two when Iowa State was favored by 11 points (ISU won 70-64) and 9.5 points (TTU won 78-73). The Red Raiders are 13-6-1 at the spread in the last 20 meetings.
Both teams aren’t doing so hot when trying to beat the spread. Texas Tech is just 3-7 at the spread in their last 10 games; Iowa State is 1-4 in their last five. The Red Raiders haven’t followed up after winning by going 1-5 ATS in their last six games after a straight-up win. The Cyclones haven’t followed up after losing by going 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games after a straight-up loss.
The point total will be intriguing when released tomorrow morning. The over usually hits at Hilton with a 30-11-1 mark in the last 42 games, and the last meeting was a high scoring affair as ISU tried extending the game to come back at the end. However, the Red Raiders have helped force the under with their defense in six out of their last seven Big 12 games. TTU holds their opponents to 62.9 points per game, but similar defenses haven’t had luck holding teams to that average in Ames.