Cyclones, Tigers Struggled down Stretch
One of the more intriguing matchups in the March Madness brackets is between the Iowa State Cyclones and LSU Tigers, a pair of teams that were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll earlier in the season. Both teams have struggled recently while playing in two of the nation’s toughest conferences. LSU’s dismissal of head coach Will Wade over the weekend after receiving notification of NCAA violations adds a layer to this first-round showdown.
Iowa State is 9-8 against Quad 1 teams; only Tennessee has more games against Quad 1 teams. However, the Cyclones are only 1-4 in Quad 2 games. Nine of LSU’s 11 losses have come in Quad 1 contests.
LSU’s odds to win the national championship have dropped to +12500 while Iowa State is listed at +50000.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and March Madness Odds for Iowa State vs LSU. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Iowa State Trying to Find Range
Iowa State was one of the most surprising teams in the country in the early portion of the season. The Cyclones were tied with Kansas State for the longest odds (+12500) to win the Big 12 title coming into the season. The Cyclones won their first 11 games, including a 19-point win over Memphis and a 20-point victory against eventual Big Ten tournament champion Iowa before falling by five points to defending national champion Baylor to fall from the ranks of the undefeated.
The 11 wins nearly matched the total from the previous two seasons combined as Iowa State went from a combined 14-41 record during the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 campaign to a 20-12 record heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The results have been much different since then with seven double-digit losses, including a 31-point defeat to Texas Tech in the conference tournament. It makes it hard for those making March Madness predictions to go with Iowa State.
The Cyclones have shot their way out of many of those losses making 23 percent of their 3-pointers in the losses compared to 33 percent in the games won by Iowa State.
Four of Iowa State’s last six games went over the Las Vegas odds total.
LSU in Turmoil Heading into March Madness
Although Louisiana State was in good shape to receive a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers announced that head coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong were terminated with cause after the school received notification of allegations from the NCAA.
Assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry was named the interim head coach on Saturday.
“After receiving the Notice earlier this week, we took several days to fully evaluate it and engage in deliberate and thoughtful discussions about our next steps,” LSU said in a joint statement from President William F. Tate IV and Director of Athletics Scott Woodward. “We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and — most importantly — our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action.”
Interim coaches have been put in place when a coach accepts another job. That was the case when Steve Fisher coached Michigan to the 1989 national title after Bill Frieder accepted the Arizona State job. However, doing so on the eve of the announcement of the March Madness bracket due to potential NCAA infractions is a little unusual.
LSU has gone 6-6 in its last 12 games, including a 12-point loss to Arkansas in the SEC tournament. It was a rare blowout as 11 of its previous 14 games were decided by single digits.
The Tigers are just 5-5 against the college basketball spreads in their last 10 games.
Iowa State vs LSU Head-to-Head
This is Iowa State’s first meeting against LSU, although the Cyclones are 11-13 against SEC teams.
Something that could be of interest to those who bet online: Iowa State is 2-0 when facing No. 6 seeds in the NCAA tournament, defeating North Carolina 85-83 as a 1½-point favorite in 2014 and rolling to an 83-56 win against UCLA in 2000 as a two-point favorite.
The Tigers lost by 14 points to UAB in 2005 as a two-point favorite the last time LSU faced a team seeded 11th.
Iowa State vs LSU Head-to-Head Game Information
- Game: Iowa State (20-12) vs. Louisiana State (20-11)
- Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
- Day/Time: Friday, 7:20 p.m. ET
- Television: TBS.com
- 2022 March Madness bracket
Iowa State vs LSU Betting Lines
Iowa State vs LSU Prediction
The teams have very similar stat sheets as Iowa State is 27th and LSU 30th in scoring defense. LSU is second nationally in steals per game while Iowa State is 30th. If there is a key difference, it could be in rebounding. Louisiana State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country while Iowa State has been outrebounded on the season.
Both teams have seen recent games going over the total, although the 127½-point total seems like a reasonable number.
It could be debated whether Iowa State even belongs in the field, and with as helpless as the Cyclones looked in the Big 12 tournament loss, it’s hard to pick them in this one, although we could see them covering as four-point underdogs
Pick: LSU Tigers -185
Pick: Iowa State +4
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