BYU Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/6/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Location: James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The BYU Cougars (21-8) are hitting the road to James H. Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday where they will go up against the Iowa State Cyclones (23-6).

The BYU Cougars faced off with TCU and took home the win by a score of 87-75 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Cougars ended up with 16 while TCU had 19 fouls. They converted 8 out of their 16 shots from three-point range. TCU ended up going 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 9 of 11 tries. Additionally, TCU snagged 35 boards (13 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. TCU doled out 13 assists and had 6 steals in the game. In the matter of defense, BYU let their opponent shoot 40.8% from the field on 29 of 71 shooting. They also recorded 19 dimes in this matchup while forcing 7 turnovers and having 2 steals. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they collected 34 with 8 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Cougars buried 14 of 21 tries for a rate of 66.7%. BYU ended the contest having earned a 52.5% FG percentage (32 out of 61) and converted 9 of their 28 3-point shots.

Fousseyni Traore is one guy who played a role in the matchup. He scored 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He played 23 minutes played and collected 7 rebounds. He shot 72.7% from the floor but didn't record an assist.

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BYU steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 21-8 on the year. They are averaging 82.7 points per game (16th in the nation) while going 46.6% from the floor. The Cougars are hitting 35.1% on shots from beyond the arc (329 of 938) and 73.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, BYU is collecting 39.9 rebounds per contest and has tallied 547 assists this year, which is 6th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.7 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Cougars have forced 11.5 turnovers every game while drawing 15.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 98th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 352 relinquished this season. The Cougars defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.7% (726 of 1,699) and they surrender 33.1 boards per game as a group. They are surrendering 31.0% on 3-point attempts while they are 103rd in the country in opponents PPG (69.4).

In their last game, the Iowa State Cyclones got the win with a final of 60-52 when they played UCF. The Cyclones collected 19 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 25 in this game. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while getting 9 steals for the game. UCF earned 23 personal fouls in this game which got the Cyclones to the free throw line for 19 shots. They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 68.4%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Iowa State converted 5 of their 21 tries (23.8%). Overall, the Cyclones went 21 for 46 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.7%. The Cyclones allowed UCF to make 20 of their 47 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in this game. They went 5.3% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 1 of 19 and finished the contest at 11 of 18 at the charity stripe (61.1%). In reference to rebounding, Iowa State permitted UCF to snag 27 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Tre King ended up being a major contributor for the Cyclones for this contest. He buried 7 of 11 in the matchup giving him a rate of 63.6%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He had 16 points in his 27 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist.

Iowa State has a mark of 23-6 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cyclones are connecting on 46.8% from the field, which is 66th in the country. Iowa State has accounted for 2,222 points this year (76.6 per contest) and they pull in 34.5 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 16.2 times per game (32nd in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.1 times per game. The Cyclones have committed 16.7 fouls per contest while shooting 69.3% from the charity stripe.

The Cyclones on defense are ranked 6th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 61.9. They are able to force 17.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.6% from the floor (30th in college hoops). The Iowa State defense gives up 32.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (218 of 670) and opponents are connecting on 71.7% of their free throw shots. They concede 12.1 dimes and 32.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 115th and 44th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take BYU

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