The Big 12 was the home of the upsets on Thursday and the biggest came from the TCU Horned Frogs, who upset the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks to advance to the semifinal round of the tournament. That victory may have helped the Iowa State Cyclones the most. ISU has a full complement of players, a victory over Oklahoma State, and faces what certainly has to be a drained club, both emotionally and physically, after TCU pulled off a pair of wins the last two days.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 10, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at the Sprint Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Friday schedule.
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The Horned Frogs just moved to the right side of the bubble after beating No. 1 Kansas in the quarterfinal round. Jamie Dixon had said all along that his TCU club is a “NCAA Tournament team” and they likely punched their ticket by beating Kansas as a 9-point underdog. But the victory was tempered a bit by the Jayhawks not having Josh Jackson in the lineup, and that’s something the committee will take into consideration. Still, a pair of cover wins in the tournament has the Horned Frogs feeling pretty good after they closed the regular season on a seven-game losing streak that saw them go 1-6 ATS.
Iowa State split the season series with TCU but will be the favorite in this semifinal matchup. The Cyclones had their six-game winning streak ended by West Virginia in the regular season finale but responded by thumping Oklahoma State for a third time on Thursday and they are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games. The offense has been clicking as well. The third-highest scoring team in the Big 12 has scored at least 80 points in six of the last eight and the over is 7-0 in the last seven games. The teams cashed the over in each of the two regular season meetings.
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Steve Prohm calls Monte Morris “the best point guard in the country” and Morris proved his coach right in Thursday’s win over the Cowboys. Morris was an assist shy of a triple double in the 92-83 win, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the effort wasn’t anything new. Morris missed out on a triple-double last week when he fell a rebound short. He dished out 11 assists and scored 12 points while hauling in nine boards.
Only four times this season Morris ended a game with fewer than 10 points and one of those came against the Horned Frogs in January. With Morris scoring nine points, the Cyclones were defeated in Fort Worth 84-77. His off-night was a factor in the outcome of that game. With Morris scoring 18 points and handing out 11 assists, the Cyclones avenged that loss with an 84-71 home win over TCU last month.
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Morris leads the country’s No. 1 ranked team in offensive efficiency and the club was on full display in Thursday’s win over Oklahoma State. It helped playing the worst defensive team in the conference, but the Cyclones were clicking in their 92-83 win. ISU shot 54 percent from the floor and made half of their 24 three-pointers.
According to kenpom.com, the Cyclones score 125 points per 100 possessions, nearly a full point higher than No. 2 UCLA. The efficient offense has four players averaging more than 12 points per game with Morris and Nazareth Mitrou-Long each scoring better than 16 points per outing. ISU has cashed the over in seven straight games and 10 of the past 12.
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We certainly didn’t expect TCU to be playing for a trip to the title game, but Kansas’ roster misfortune certainly helped. Playing without Jackson, the Jayhawks looked flat and the Horned Frogs took over. It’s easy to overlook TCU, especially after closing the season with seven straight losses. But don’t forget the Frogs were 17-7 before that skid with a win over Iowa State.
Fatigue will be a factor for TCU after playing two grueling games in back-to-back days. Beating Kansas took a lot out of the Frogs and while the adrenaline will be flowing to start, it will wear off and the Cyclones will continue to push the pace, further tiring TCU. Iowa State probably benefits the most from Kansas’ loss and they will take advantage.
College Basketball Odds: Iowa State 83, TCU 74
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