NCAAB Odds, Pick for Iowa State vs BYU

No. 20 BYU and No. 24 Iowa State meet on the hardwood Tuesday night for a crucial Big 12 matchup in Provo.

The Cougars earned their first league win in their new conference over the weekend at UCF to move to 13-3.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones are off an impressive week, taking down a top-5 Houston squad and beating Oklahoma State by 24.

There are no nights off in the Big 12, and we should get another great battle between two nationally ranked-teams on Tuesday.

Here's NCAAB odds and a pick for Iowa State vs. BYU.

Iowa State put together another strong December, which has been typical for the program under T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones finished 6-0 to improve to 16-1 in the month under Otzelberger.

These Cyclones have been strong at home. Iowa State has won 27 straight games against non-conference opponents at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the nation's ninth-longest streak.

One thing we have seen more from the Cyclones this season has been some high-scoring outputs on the offensive end of the floor. The six highest-scoring team totals under Otzelberger have all come this campaign, which includes a pair of 100-point performances.

This is also the same squad that has scored 90 or more points on six occasions this season. This is the most since hitting that mark eight times in the 2016-17 campaign.

The Cougars had to wait until their third league game to pick up that first Big 12 win, which came on a rare trip to Florida. It was BYU’s first true road game in the Sunshine State since 1999.

In the victory, Trevin Kneel continued his hot start in conference play. The redshirt junior averages 18.7 points per game while leading the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at 57.1%.

One key reason for Kneel's strong play has been that he plays for a BYU team that is one of the nation’s best in assists. The Cougars lead the nation in assists per game and are second in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Coach Mark Pope’s team has registered 20 or more assists in 11 games this. BYU also has eight contests with 10 or fewer turnovers, which only happened five times a season ago.

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When I dove into this game, the one thing that stood out was how well BYU played in the first half. I also don’t trust this Iowa State team nearly as much on the road as at home.

So, my best bet is for the Cougars to cover a first-half spread of -2 or better. I would not lay a moneyline price in the opening period higher than -140 odds.

On the season, BYU ranks fourth in the country in average first-half margin at +17.8. This same play would have cashed in all 10 Cougar games at the Marriott Center this season and in all three conference matchups.

Meanwhile, this will be Iowa State’s third true road game of the year. If you include all contests on neutral or away courts, the Cyclones were losing at half in three of five.

We are now asking them to go to Provo and play in altitude on a quick turnaround after the win on Saturday night. I feel they'll need time to adjust to the elements.

This is also an unfamiliar trip for all Big 12 schools this season. So, give me BYU to have a lead going into halftime.

Pick: BYU 1H -2 or Better

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