Pittsburgh Panthers vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Friday, March 17, 2023

Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+2)

The Pittsburgh Panthers (23-11) are headed to Greensboro Coliseum on Friday where they will try to defeat the Iowa State Cyclones (19-13). Iowa State opens as 2-point favorites. The total has been set at 132.5.

The Pittsburgh Panthers faced Mississippi State and earned the victory with a final of 60-59 in their last contest. Pittsburgh ended the contest having earned a 38.9% FG percentage (21 of 54) and converted 9 of 19 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 9 of 15 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. When talking about hauling in boards, they earned 25 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 10 dimes in this contest while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Pertaining to defending, Pittsburgh let their opponent shoot 38.1% from the floor on 24 out of 63 shooting. Mississippi State totaled 14 assists and had 1 steal for the game. In addition, Mississippi State grabbed 42 boards (14 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Mississippi State ended up shooting 71.4% from the free throw line by converting 5 of their 7 tries. They made 6 of their 23 attempts from distance. When discussing fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 12 while Mississippi State totaled 18 fouls.

Nelly Cummings is a guy who was a major factor in the game. He ended up going 46.2% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes. He saw the court for 40 minutes played and collected 3 boards. He racked up 15 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Pittsburgh comes into this contest with a mark of 23-11 for the year. They currently have an average of 75.6 points per contest (82nd in Division 1) while shooting 45.1% from the field. The Panthers are shooting 36.2% on 3-point shots (313 of 864) and 75.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Pittsburgh is pulling down 35.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 485 assists this year, which ranks 67th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.1 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 16.1 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Panthers are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers every game while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 277th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 450 relinquished for the year. The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (848 of 1,999) and they surrender 34.3 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are conceding 33.2% on shots from distance and they are 179th in the nation in PPG allowed (70.1).

In their last game, the Iowa State Cyclones went home victorious with a score of 78-72 when they faced Baylor. The Cyclones were able to collect 23 defensive rebounds and 20 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 for the contest. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while earning 9 steals for the matchup. Baylor was called for 18 fouls in the game which took the Cyclones to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of them for a rate of 71.4%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, Iowa State converted 8 of their 21 tries (38.1%). When all was said and done, the Cyclones ended up shooting 30 for 61 from the floor which had them shooting 49.2%. The Cyclones allowed Baylor to bury 23 of 51 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 45.1% in this contest. They finished shooting 48.3% from downtown via 14 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 13 at the free throw line (92.3%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Iowa State permitted Baylor to grab 15 overall (3 on the offensive side).

Gabe Kalscheur ended up having an impact for the Cyclones in the matchup. He buried 9 out of 15 in this game for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and earned 4 rebounds. He racked up 24 points in his 39 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the game.

Iowa State has a win-loss record of 19-13 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Cyclones are connecting on 45.0% from the field, which ranks them 162nd in Division 1. Iowa State has totaled 2,190 points so far this year (68.4 per game) and they average 33.6 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 14.1 times per contest (108th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.1 times per contest. The Cyclones commit 19.1 personal fouls every game while shooting 67.4% from the charity stripe.

The Iowa State defense gives up 33.8% on 3-pointers (246 of 728) and their opponents are converting on 71.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 11.8 assists and 30.2 boards per game, which has them ranked 111th and 9th in college basketball. The Cyclones defensively are ranked 23rd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 62.8. They are forcing 16.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.2% from the floor (90th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Iowa State (-5)

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