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College Basketball

Iowa State Cyclones vs. Wisconsin Badgers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Joe Hedrick Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read

The Iowa State Cyclones (21-12) will take on the Wisconsin Badgers (25-7) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Sunday’s tipoff is scheduled for 6:10 PM ET at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and can be viewed on TNT.  

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Score Prediction

Wisconsin 65, Iowa State 62 

Best Bet

Iowa State +4.5 (-110)

NCAA Tournament Expert Picks | NIT Tournament Picks

MARCH MADNESS BETTING RESOURCES

IOWA STATE CYCLONES vs. WISCONSIN BADGERS PREDICTIONS

Iowa State defeated LSU 59-54 in their opening round game and covered as 3.5-point underdogs. The Cyclones did not play all that well on offense, shooting just 35.7 FG%, 32.4 3PT%, and lost the rebounding battle 38-29. Iowa State was great on defense holding the Tigers to just 37.0 FG%, 21.1 3PT%, and forcing 19 turnovers. The Cyclones started this season 13-0, but ended this season a little streaky, going 8-12 in their last 20 games.  

Wisconsin defeated Colgate 67-60 in the first round of the NCCA Tournament, but failed to cover as 7.5-point favorites. The Badgers shot 41.9 FG%, 35.3 3PT%, and won the rebounding battle 37-36. On defense, Wisconsin allowed Colgate 38.6 FG%, 45.5 3PT%, and forced 12 turnovers. In my honest opinion Wisconsin should have lost the game, but were basically playing a home game with the game being played just an hour away from the Badgers campus.  

I think this game will be a great matchup. Both teams are similar in terms of points per game and points allowed. I think there is value in Iowa State moneyline here, but give Wisconsin the slight edge to win straight up in this one because they are so close to home. Taking the points and the Cyclones here in what should be a quality second round matchup.

IOWA STATE CYCLONES vs. WISCONSIN BADGERS BETTING ODDS

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IOWA STATE CYCLONES vs. WISCONSIN BADGERS BETTING RESOURCES

  • Date: Sunday, March 20, 2022
  • Matchup: No. 11 vs. No. 3
  • Region: Midwest
  • Venue: Fiserv Forum
  • Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • TV-Time: TNT - 6:10 p.m. ET

IOWA STATE CYCLONES BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 21-12
  • ATS: 18-15
  • O/U: 15-18

Iowa State was above .500 ATS this season, posting a record of 18-15. The Cyclones have struggled against Big-10 opponents recently, going just 1-5 ATS in their six meetings with teams from the Big-10 Conference. The total has gone under in 18 of the Cyclone’s 33 games played. In their last 10 games Iowa State is 5-5 SU, 5-5 ATS, and had an O/U record of 6-4.  

The Cyclones offense is led by senior guard Izaiah Brockington who averages 17.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 45.7 FG%. Brockington was huge for the Cyclones in their win over LSU, scoring 19 points and hitting a huge 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game. As a team, Iowa State averages 66.2 PPG, 43.6 FG%, 32.2 3PT%, 14.7 APG, and 31.9 RPG. Brockington will need to be a factor again in this one as the team's success depends on his performance.  

Iowa State enters this matchup allowing opponents 62.7 PPG, 42.7 FG%, 29.4 3PT%, while averaging 8.6 SPG, and 3.1 BPG. Iowa State did a great job forcing turnovers against LSU, with 19 total on the game. The Cyclones will need to slow down Wisconsin's Johnny Davis who is key to the Badgers success. Iowa State will need to hold him under 20 points if they want to win this one.  

WISCONSIN BADGERS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 25-7
  • ATS: 17-15
  • O/U: 18-13-1

Wisconsin was about .500 ATS with a record of 17-15. The Badgers have not been good ATS recently when playing as a favorite, posting a 1-9 ATS record in their last 10 games playing as the favorite. The total has gone over in 18 of Wisconsin’s 32 games played including four of their last five. In their last 10 games the Badgers have gone 7-3 SU, 5-5 ATS, and had an O/U record of 4-5-1.  

The Badgers enter this matchup averaging 70.6 PPG, 42.5 FG%, 31.3 3PT%, 11.2 APG, and 35.0 RPG. Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis has led the way for the Badgers this season, averaging 19.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 43.3 FG%. Davis was great in their win over Colgate, putting up 25 points and 8-rebounds. The Badgers had just five turnovers in their opening round game and will need to protect the ball again in this one as Iowa State averages 8.6 SPG and forced 19 turnovers in their first-round game against LSU. 

Wisconsin’s defense allows opponents 66.3 PPG, 43.8 FG%, 32.7 3PT%, while averaging 5.3 SPG, and 2.8 BPG. The Badgers do a good job of playing straight up defense. They do not commit a lot of fouls and rely on forcing teams to take tough shots. Wisconsin will need to slow down Iowa State’s Iziah Brockington as well as defend the three, which is what kept Colgate in the game throughout.  

Iowa State has won 10 straight games when playing on a Sunday. (AP)

INSIDE THE STATS - IOWA STATE CYCLONES

  • Record: 21-12
  • PS/G: 66.2 (298th)
  • PA/G: 62.7 (23rd)

INSIDE THE STATS - WISCONSIN BADGERS

  • Record: 25-7
  • PS/G: 70.6 (193rd)
  • PA/G: 66.3 (90th)

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

  • IWST: Izaiah Brockington - G (17.3 ppg, 7 rpg)
  • IWST: Tyrese Hunter - G (11.2 ppg, 4.8 apg)
  • WIS: Johnny Davis - G (19.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
  • WIS: Brad Davison - G (14.1 ppg, 4 rpg)

IOWA STATE CYCLONES vs. WISCONSIN BADGERS BETTING CONCLUSION

Both teams will look too slow down the others star player on defense and look to get them involved on offense. If Iowa State gets hot from deep, they can very well win this game. Wisconsin will stick to their usual game plan of a slow, set offense while Iowa State will look to speed up the pace of this game. This one should be close throughout, so I’ll take the points and the Cyclones here.  

MARCH MADNESS PICK RESOURCES

IOWA STATE CYCLONES vs. WISCONSIN BADGERS BETTING TRENDS

  • Iowa State has won 10 straight games when playing on a Sunday.
  • Iowa State has lost 1H in eight of its last nine games when playing at night.
  • Iowa State has allowed 65 points or more in 61 of its last 66 games when facing an AP-ranked school at night.
  • Wisconsin has seen 126 or more total points in 22 of its last 23 games.

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