The Wildcats have lost four of their last five games SU and ATS heading into Saturday. That’ll give the Cyclones a good matchup to get back on track as the No. 17 team in the nation has had a rough go of it this month as well. Tune in on Saturday to see if Georges Niang can get Iowa State back in the win column.
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HOW THE KANSAS STATE WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Iowa State’s recent struggles gives the Wildcats some hope. The Cyclones have dropped six of their last eight games ATS and are just 3-5 SU in that time period.
Of course, the Wildcats aren’t exactly stringing together a bunch of wins, either, but Kansas State is still 14-10-1 ATS this season and 5-3-1 ATS when on the road.
They also have a strong defense that could help slow down the Cyclones’ high-powered offense. Kansas State is particularly strong outside, holding the opposition to just 30.1 percent shooting from behind the arc.
The offense, of course, is an issue, but the Cyclones have given up 83-points or more in four of their last five games and over their last three, their opposition has scored a combined 280 points.
If guard Justin Edwards and forward Wesley Iwundu can exploit the Cyclones’ lackluster defense, the Wildcats could surprise. The duo each average at least 12 PPG with Edwards coming off a 20-point performance against Texas.
In that game, D.J. Johnson scored 16, reaching at least nine for the seventh time in his last eight games.
HOW THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Cyclones handed the Wildcats a 76-63 loss in the Little Apple back in January, covering the 1.5-point spread with ease.
In that game, Iowa State got four double-digit performances, including a 19-point outing from Georges Niang. As a whole, the team shot 50.9 percent from the floor, while allowing Kansas State to shoot just 37.7 percent.
While the Cyclones have been beatable of late, Iowa State is still a solid 12-12-1 ATS this season. The team’s also still ranked amongst the best offenses in college hoops, averaging 83.1 PPG and shooting 50.4 percent from the floor, ranking them second in the sport.
Defensively, the Cyclones tend to struggle. They’ve given up a ton of points over their last three games, but Kansas State is not known for their offense. In fact, they’re ranked near the bottom of the league at No. 236 with just 70.9 PPG.
Given the Wildcats’ poor offense, the Cyclones are well positioned for another big win behind Niang and a dominant, fast-paced offense.
Iowa State is a very balanced team. Inside, Niang and Jameel McKay are each shooting over 53 percent from the floor while Abdel Nader checks in with 13.6 PPG, to rank third on the team behind Niang’s 19.5 and guard Monte Morris’s 14.8 PPG.
The Cyclones roster is very deep. Even with Nazareth Mitrou-Long out for the year, Iowa State has six healthy players all contributing at least 10.5 PPG.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Given the Cyclones’ defensive woes over their last handful of games, look for the Wildcats to outscore their season average on Saturday and hang with the Cyclones.
Still, I don’t expect there to be enough offense put on the board to hang with Niang and company even with Johnson picking up his game. The Cyclones have struggled to find consistency of late, but they’ve still been able to dent the scoreboard.
That shouldn’t change on Saturday and with Kansas State below average offensively, don’t look for them to be able to score enough to score the upset on the road.
Iowa State 83, Kansas State 74
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The matchup between the Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones will take place Saturday, February 27, 2016, at 6 p.m. ET at the James H. Hilton Coliseum. You can watch the game live on ESPN2.
