Iowa Hawkeyes vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, Odds and Picks

ESPN: Dangerous attack on coach with two other players

Iowa and Iowa State clash on Thursday night on a thin slate of games. This in-state rivalry is a good one, as these two teams are consistently good and totally opposite in playing style. Iowa is all offense and no defense, simply trying to outscore opponents. Iowa State, on the other hand, frustrates opponents with their solid defense which is one of the best in the country year after year. The question in this game is which style of play will win out, and why? I believe the Cyclones will slow this game down enough to keep us under a fairly high total.

This Iowa team is a bit different than recent squads in that it rarely shoots 3s. This version of the Hawkeyes is downhill and attacks the rim instead. The struggle in this specific matchup is that Iowa State is tremendous at making you play against their halfcourt defense, and then protecting the paint in that set. Iowa will score, but I don’t think this is an 85-point scenario for them by any means. On the other side of the court, I am still not convinced of the offensive ability of the Cyclones. They finished in the 60s against both Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, the best two teams they have faced. The Hawkeyes are bad defensively, but I have a hard time seeing the Cyclones reaching 80 points either. The Hilton Coliseum is a tough place to play, and the Cyclones are one of the best at protecting home court, but I am skeptical of them winning by multiple scores with their style of play. I feel much better about this game total, and it would be surprising to me if this game spills into the 80s. I’ll take the under in this one.