Iowa State Cyclones vs Baylor Bears Prediction, 3/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa State Cyclones vs Baylor Bears

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023

Location: Ferrell Center in Waco, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa State Cyclones (17-12) are headed to Ferrell Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Baylor Bears (22-8).

The Iowa State Cyclones stepped onto the hardwood against West Virginia and took a loss by a final of 72-69 in their last game. Iowa State walked away from the contest having earned a 46.2% FG percentage (24 of 52) and made 8 of their 21 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Cyclones buried 13 of their 18 shots for a percentage of 72.2%. With regard to hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 23 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 13 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and having 6 steals. In regard to the defense, Iowa State let their opponent shoot 44.0% from the floor on 22 out of 50 shooting. West Virginia distributed 11 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. Additionally, West Virginia pulled down 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. West Virginia ended up going 82.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 19 of 23 attempts. They made 9 out of their 27 shots from 3-point range. In the matter of personal fouls, the Cyclones ended up with 25 while West Virginia had 20 personal fouls.

Gabe Kalscheur is one guy who played a role in this contest. He ended up shooting 53.3% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. He played 24 mins and also pulled down 1 board. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 8 out of 15 shooting.

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Iowa State will enter this game with a mark of 17-12 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.7 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 19.2 fouls per contest. As a unit, Iowa State is grabbing 33.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 408 assists on the year, which ranks 144th in the nation in terms of passing. The Cyclones are shooting 33.5% on 3-pointers (190 of 567) and 67.2% from the charity stripe. They average 68.3 pts per game (270th in the nation) while hitting 44.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Cyclones are forcing their opponents into 16.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.0 personal fouls. They are surrendering 33.1% on three-point shots and they rank 20th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (62.3). The Cyclones defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.0% (592 of 1,409) and they relinquish 30.9 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 99th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 345 relinquished this season.

In their last game, the Baylor Bears walked away with a victory by a final of 74-68 when they faced Oklahoma State. The Bears were able to pull down 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 25 for the matchup. They also gave up possession 10 times, while recording 6 steals for this game. Oklahoma State had 17 personal fouls for this contest which got the Bears to the free throw line for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a percentage of 85.0%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, Baylor made 11 of 31 tries (35.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Bears shot 23 out of 55 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.8%. The Bears allowed Oklahoma State to convert 27 out of their 68 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.7% in the matchup. They finished 28.1% from downtown by connecting on 9 out of 32 and ended up shooting 5 of 9 from the charity stripe (55.6%). In reference to how they rebounded, Baylor permitted Oklahoma State to grab 38 overall (21 on the offensive glass).

LJ Cryer ended up being a major contributor for the Bears for this contest. He converted 5 of 15 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 33.3%, and had 3 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 40 mins of playing time and had 2 assists in this game.

Baylor has a win-loss mark of 22-8 for the season. The Bears are responsible for committing 17.3 personal fouls per game and they hit 75.1% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.8 times per contest (73rd in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per game. Baylor has totaled 2,339 points this year (78.0 per contest) and they average 35.2 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bears are shooting 44.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 172nd in the nation.

The Baylor defense allows 31.9% on 3-point attempts (205 of 643) and opponents are knocking down 70.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 15.3 assists and 31.6 rebounds per game, which ranks them 342nd and 47th in college hoops. The Bears on the defensive side of the court are 181st in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 69.9. They are able to force 13.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.9% from the field (269th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa State

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