NCAA basketball on Tuesday night and we will see the Texas Longhorns travel to Ames, Iowa to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN 2. Vegas odds have the Cyclones listed as 5 point favorites, while the total sits at 153.5.
Analysis: The Texas Longhorns are the first team in the Big 12 to reach 20 wins, while also posting a 9-3 mark within the conference. The Longhorns defeated West Virginia on Saturday for their ninth win in 10 games and the victory gave Rick Barnes his 14th 20-win campaign in 16 seasons at the school. Texas is 49th in the nation in scoring, at 76.9 ppg, but they don’t shot all that well, hitting just 44.2% of their shots overall (191st) and 33.5% from long range (222nd). 4 payers average in double figures for Texas, led by Jonathan Holmes, who averages 13.0 ppg. Cameron Ridley is the team’s leading rebounder (8.1 rpg), while also putting in 11.1 ppg. On defense, the Longhorns allow 69.9 ppg, but teams don’t shoot well vs them as the Longhorns have allowed just 39.8% shooting, which is 29th in the nation. Texas has won 11 of the past 13 meetings, including the 86-76 home win earlier this season.
The Cyclones come in at 19-5 overall and 7-5 with in the Big 12. They are 12-1 at home and have now won 44 of their last 48 games in Ames. The Cyclones come in 5th in the nation in scoring at 84.1 ppg, while they shoot 47.2% from the field, which is 46th in the nation. 4 starters have averaged in double digits for the Cyclones, led by Melvin Ejim , who averages 18.9 ppg to go along with 8.6 rpg. Georges Niang (16.3 ppg) DeAndre Kane (15.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.1 apg) and Dustin Hogue (10.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) round out the double digit scorers for the team. On defense Iowa State allows a high 73.7 ppg, but teams don’t shoot well vs them as they allow just 41.4% shooting.
Pick: Surprise! Gonna look at the Over in this one. Both teams love to push tempo and neither has played great defense of late, which should lead to a high scoring game. These teams are used to that as 13 of the last 17 in the series has gone over the total, plus the Over is 20-5-1 in Iowa State's last 26 home games, while the Over is 14-6 in Texas' last 20 vs the Big 12. Texas struggled to score in their last 2 road games, but those were vs slow down teams in KSU and TCU, so that pretty much can be expected. Overall this year Texas has averaged 73 ppg on the road and Iowa State has struggled on defense in the Big 12, allowing 79.5 ppg (Regulation Only) overall and 72 ppg at home. Texas should be good for the mid 70's here, especially in a fast paced game. Texas has played solid defense of late and they allow just 72.4 ppg on the road, but this Iowa State team is tough to slow down at home, where they have averaged 86 ppg on the year overall, including 78.8 ppg at home in Big 12 play. Both teams love to run and both should get plenty of points vs suspect defensive teams. This should be a shootout so sit back and enjoy.
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