Baylor vs Iowa State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/9/23
Iowa State Cyclones (17-12) vs. Baylor Bears (22-9)
March 9, 2023 12:30 pm EDT
The Line: Baylor Bears -4 / Iowa State Cyclones +4 ; Over/Under: 134.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Iowa State Cyclones and the Baylor Bears meet Thursday in Big 12 Tournament college basketball action from Sprint Center. Iowa State finished the regular season at 18-12 overall. As for Baylor, they’re 22-9 this year. These teams last met on Saturday in a 15-point Iowa State road win. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State managed a 16-7 run across their first 23 games of the season. The Cyclones closed things out with a rough 2-5 run however, falling to Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia with wins over TCU and Baylor otherwise.
In the Baylor game back on Saturday, Iowa State jumped out to a 33-22 halftime edge. The Cyclones kept it rolling in the second half and cruised to the big win 73-58. Jaren Holmes led the team on 16 points with seven rebounds and five assists.
Baylor Bears
Over on the Baylor side, they were sitting at 18-6 at the 24-game mark this year. The Bears finished the regular season on a 4-3 stretch with wins over TCU, Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State mixed with losses to Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State.
Back on Saturday in the Cyclones game, Baylor shot a tepid 35.8 percent overall and couldn’t gain any ground with a 40-36 deficit in the second half. Adam Flagler led the team in scoring with 20 points and LJ Cryer added 13 points as well.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Baylor in this one. You could make a case either way, though. This will be anyone’s ballgame. That said, the Bears have had a pretty rough schedule lately; the only unranked team they’ve fallen to over this current 2-3 stretch was Iowa State. Baylor’s still scoring pretty well also, with 71 or more points in eight of nine games leading up to that loss to the Cyclones. The Bears have now lost twice to Iowa State this year—the first time came back on New Year’s Eve at Hilton Coliseum in a 77-62 affair. It seems the Cyclones have the Bears’ number, but I think Baylor can get some much-needed revenge if they play well in this one. I’m not touching it, though.
