The No. 17 Iowa State Cyclones will be at Frank Erwin Special Events Center to take on the Texas Longhorns in a Big 12 matchup. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on ES2 and ES3.
The Longhorns are hoping for a better outcome after their 58-57 loss to TCU on Saturday. Javan Felix was the game’s high scorer, finishing with 16 points. The Cyclones, meanwhile, are coming off a 94-89 loss against Baylor on Saturday. Georges Niang had a team-high 22 points.
Over the last five games, Isaiah Taylor has been playing at a high level for the Longhorns. During that stretch, he has averaged 22.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals.
Texas is a small underdog, with Iowa State favored by one. The Over/Under (O/U) is set at 154 points. Even with a positive Straight Up (SU) record of 9-6, the Longhorns are 4-10 Against The Spread (ATS) in those games. They have been worse ATS (3-7) than their SU record (7-3) over their last 10 games would indicate. Texas has given up very few turnovers with an average of only 11.5 per game.
On the other side, the Cyclones have records of 6-5-1 ATS and 12-3 SU. Offensively, they average 85.4 points per game, which is good for ninth in the country. The Cyclones rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 13th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.64. The Cyclones have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 28.7 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation. Iowa State may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Longhorns averaging 21.8 fouls per game, one of the highest marks in Division I.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference rivals played, Iowa State won, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 6-4. Additionally, Iowa State holds the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1. Texas held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once, while Iowa State was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tex, ATS Winner – Tex, O/U – Over
Notes
Texas is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
Texas is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas’s last 6 games.
Texas is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas’s last 6 games at home.
Texas is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Iowa State.
Texas is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Iowa State.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Texas’s last 10 games when playing at home against Iowa State.
Iowa State is one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 85.4 points per game (ranked ninth). Texas, on the other hand, allows 67.7 points per game (ranked 108th).
Ranked 27th, the Iowa State Cyclones have an offensive rating of 115.7. The Texas Longhorns rank 121st with a defensive rating of just 98.8.
The Iowa State Cyclones have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 10th in the nation with a FG% of 49.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Texas Longhorns have a losing 1-2 record.
The Texas Longhorns rank lower for their field goal percentage (202nd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (180th), but the Iowa State Cyclones have a better FG% ranking (10th) than eFG% ranking (18th).
Ranked 20th in the nation, Iowa State has an average of 17.7 assists per game. Texas ranks lower at 291st with 11.7.
Texas ranks 41st in blocks per game with 5.2 and Iowa State ranks 97th with 4.3 blocks per game.
Texas ranks 86th in offensive rebounding. When it comes to defensive rebounds, Iowa State ranks 31st.
On average, Iowa State forces a turnover rate of 18.8%. When Texas turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 3-1 record.
