Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 1/1/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: ESPNU

The Baylor Bears (12-0) are traveling to James H. Hilton Coliseum on Saturday where they will compete against the Iowa State Cyclones (12-0).

The Baylor Bears played Northwestern State and walked away with a win by a score of 104-68 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Bears left the arena with 8 and Northwestern State recorded 13 fouls. They also buried 11 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc. Northwestern State finished the game at 100.0% at the charity stripe by burying 5 of 5 attempts. Moreover, Northwestern State had 30 boards (4 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Northwestern State distributed 18 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. When talking about defense, Baylor allowed their opponent to shoot 39.4% from the floor on 26 out of 66 shooting. They also doled out 25 assists in this game while forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 47 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Bears knocked down 13 of their 20 shots for a rate of 65.0%. Baylor ended the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (39 of 78) and knocked down 13 of 35 three-point shots.

James Akinjo is someone who was important in this matchup. He ended up going 45.0% from the field and distributed 9 dimes. He played for 31 minutes played and pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 27 points on 9 out of 20 shooting.

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Baylor comes into this one with a record of 12-0 on the year. They average 83.8 pts per game (11th in D-1) while going 48.8% from the field. The Bears are shooting 35.8% on three-point attempts (108 of 302) and 65.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Baylor is pulling in 41.1 boards per contest and has racked up 236 assists this year, which ranks 10th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.8 times per game and as a squad they are committing 15.0 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Bears are able to force 18.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.7 fouls. They relinquish 31.1% from 3-point land while they are 10th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (56.8). The Bears are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 38.8% (251 of 647) and they concede 30.8 boards per game as a squad. They are 114th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 135 surrendered for the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Iowa State Cyclones got the victory with a final of 79-48 when they faced Chicago State. The Cyclones earned 27 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards for a total of 39 for this contest. They coughed it up 16 times, while recording 11 steals in the matchup. Chicago State committed 22 personal fouls in this game which got the Cyclones to the charity stripe for 20 tries. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 95.0%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Iowa State made 6 of 18 tries (33.3%). When the game finished, the Cyclones shot 27 out of 56 from the field which had them shooting 48.2%. The Cyclones permitted Chicago State to convert 15 of 54 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 27.8% in the matchup. They finished 10.0% from downtown by connecting on 2 of 20 and ended up going 16 out of 23 from the free throw line (69.6%). With respect to attacking the glass, Iowa State allowed Chicago State to snag 29 overall (12 on the offensive glass).

Izaiah Brockington ended up being a factor for the Cyclones for the contest. He knocked down 6 out of 16 in this game for a rate of 37.5%, and had 13 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 3 assists in this matchup.

Iowa State has a win-loss record of 12-0 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Cyclones are shooting 45.5% from the floor, which is 125th in the nation. Iowa State has accounted for 877 pts so far this season (73.1 per game) and they pull in 36.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 15.7 times per contest (61st in D-1) and they turn it over 13.8 times per contest. The Cyclones commit 18.3 fouls per contest and they shoot 70.7% from the charity stripe.

The Cyclones are ranked 7th in the country in PPG given up with 56.1. They have forced 18.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 36.9% from the floor (9th in college basketball). The Iowa State defense gives up 24.2% on 3-point shots (58 of 240) and their opposition makes 72.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 8.7 dimes and 31.4 boards per contest, which ranks them 8th and 52nd in college basketball.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Baylor

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