Washington State Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/23/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington State Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024

Location: CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, NE

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Washington State (+9)

The Iowa State Cyclones (28-7) will play the Washington State Cougars (25-9) at CHI Health Center Omaha on Saturday in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Washington State opens this contest as 9-point underdogs. The total has been set at 127.

The Washington State Cougars took the court against Drake and took home the win by a score of 66-61 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Cougars ended up with 13 and Drake racked up 21 fouls. They knocked down 5 of 15 shots from downtown. Drake finished shooting 42.9% from the charity stripe by making 6 of 14 tries. In addition, Drake snagged 29 boards (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Drake earned 18 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. Regarding the defense, Washington State allowed the other team to shoot 42.4% from the floor on 25 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 12 assists in this game in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and getting 5 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 37 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 17 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. Washington State finished the contest with a 38.2% FG percentage (21 out of 55) and made 7 of their 14 shots from downtown.

Isaac Jones is a player who was a major factor in this matchup. He went 46.2% from the floor and dished out 3 dimes. He played 35 mins and also grabbed 11 boards. He racked up 20 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Today

Washington State will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 25-9 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Washington State is grabbing 37.8 rebounds per game and has racked up 426 assists so far this year, which is 182nd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Cougars are hitting 34.3% on shots from downtown (218 of 635) and 70.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 74.1 pts per contest (164th in Division 1) while connecting on 46.4% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars are able to force 10.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.1 fouls. They give up 32.1% on 3-point shots while they are 44th in the nation in PPG allowed (66.7). The Cougars defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.2% (811 of 1,922) and they relinquish 31.6 boards per game as a basketball team. They are ranked 43rd in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 366 relinquished on the season.

For their last game, the Iowa State Cyclones went home victorious with a score of 82-65 against South Dakota State. The Cyclones were able to corral 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 27 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while recording 11 steals in the game. South Dakota State earned 13 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Cyclones to the charity stripe for a total of 8 attempts. They were able to bury 5 of the free throws for a clip of 62.5%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, Iowa State buried 11 out of 23 tries (47.8%). In all, the Cyclones finished the game shooting 33 for 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.9%. The Cyclones permitted South Dakota State to make 23 out of their 53 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 43.4% for the game. They finished shooting 41.7% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 24 and finished the game at 9 out of 11 at the charity stripe (81.8%). Concerning attacking the glass, Iowa State permitted South Dakota State to pull down 24 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Milan Momcilovic pitched in for the Cyclones in this contest. He converted 8 out of 15 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and earned 5 rebounds. He earned 19 points in his 36 minutes on the court and tallied 2 assists in the matchup.

Iowa State has a record of 28-7 so far this season. The Cyclones are responsible for committing 16.4 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 69.6% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.0 times per contest (34th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per game. Iowa State has tallied 2,651 points on the year (75.7 per contest) and they average 33.9 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Cyclones are hitting on 46.7% from the floor, which is ranked 65th in the country.

The Cyclones are ranked 4th in college hoops in points given up per game with 61.4. They have forced 17.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.1% from the floor (12th in the nation). The Iowa State defense concedes 31.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (258 of 811) and opponents are connecting on 71.4% of their free throw shots. They have given up 12.2 assists and 32.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 111th and 78th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Iowa State (-9)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here