Iowa State vs. DePaul Prediction, Preview, and Odds
The Big East-Big 12 Battle is set for a matchup on Friday between the Iowa State Cyclones (5-2, 4-3 ATS) and the DePaul Blue Demons (1-5, 1-5 ATS). Iowa State just lost a neutral site matchup to #12 Texas A&M in the ESPN Events Invitational, going down 73-69 as 1.5-point favorites. DePaul just dropped a home game to Northern Illinois 89-79, losing outright as 3.5-point favorites. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 EST from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, and can be found on FS1.
When the going gets tough, our NCAAB Picks get winning!
Cyclones Drop Last Two
Iowa State won their first five games of the season, though it has not been a very challenging stretch. They were favored by 27 or more points in each of their first four games, easily winning all of them. Their best win was over VCU, but they were still favored by 11.5 in that matchup. Iowa State then finished 4th in the ESPN Events Invitational, losing back to back games to Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. Against A&M, they were led by freshman Milan Momcilovic with 15 points in the close loss.
The Cyclones are led by 6'1 sophomore Tamin Lipsey, he leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He averages 15.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.9 APG. He had a 10-point, 14-rebound game against Texas A&M, an impressive stat line for a 6'1 guard. Momcilovic is their top shooter, he is a 6'8 freshman averaging 14.1 PPG, and has knocked down 19 threes on the season. Keshon Gilbert is their third scorer, he averages 13.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG as a 6'4 guard. Gilbert transferred in from UNLV last season. There is a steep fall in scoring after their top three, the next highest scorer is guard Curtis Jones at 8.6 PPG.
Iowa State ranks 26th overall in the nation according to KenPom. Their defense is elite, where they rank 6th in the nation in defensive efficiency. Their offense ranks 79th in efficiency. The Cyclones rank 148th in tempo based on their pace of play.
Tough Start for DePaul
The DePaul Blue Demons are off to a 1-5 start, and their schedule is not getting any easier. They cannot simply blame a difficult road, as they lost twice as favorites, and have not faced a double-digit spread as underdogs leading into this one. In their last game, the Blue Demons were favored to beat Northern Illinois, but lost by 10 on their home floor. DePaul was led by Da'Sean Nelson with 23 points in the loss.
Chico Carter Jr. leads the team in scoring with 13.3 PPG, and also leads in assists with 3.8 per game. Carter Jr. is a 6'3 transfer coming in from South Carolina, he dropped 24 on his old team when they played the Gamecocks earlier this season. Jeremiah Oden is another transfer, he is a 6'8 forward who came in from Wyoming and is adding 11.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG. Elijah Fisher is a 6'6 wing who came over from Texas Tech to play a bigger role, he adds 10.8 PPG. Da'Sean Nelson is the lone returning contributor for DePaul, he is an energetic 6'8 forward adding 10.7 PPG.
DePaul ranks 190th overall according to KenPom, they rank 220th in offensive efficiency and 167th in defensive efficiency. DePaul plays slightly slower than the Cyclones, they rank 192nd in tempo.
Looking for the best handicappers around? Try our Expert Picks.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Rating:
DePaul is impossible to bet on until further notice. They have been under performing all season, they opened up with a loss to IPFW as 11.5 point favorites, and five games later they lost to Northern Illinois as 3.5-point favorites. The new pieces have not meshed yet, as Carter Jr. has not been scoring as much as anticipated and Nelson and Oden have similar games, trying to take minutes at the 4. Iowa State has their identity formed. Gilbert is a slashing wing with good size and athleticism, Momcilovic is an excellent outside shooter with size, and Lipsey does literally everything else. Lipsey leads the team in four statistical categories, this may not work against Kansas and Texas, but it won't matter against DePaul. The Blue Demons are playing so poorly, they will not be able to stop anything Iowa State throws at them. DePaul's defense ranks 220th in the nation in efficiency, Iowa State's defense ranks 6th. It would be hard to find a bigger mismatch this weekend. Cyclones get it done.
Take Iowa State to cover.
Prediction: Iowa State to cover
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Rating:
Neither team plays fast, and I cannot picture DePaul scoring enough points to send this over the total. Iowa State's tempo is only 148th in the nation, even when they have an advantage they do not fly up and down the floor. DePaul does not play fast either, as their tempo only ranks 192nd. The mismatch here is when DePaul has the ball, they have not found a rhythm yet offensively, ranking only 220th in efficiency, meanwhile Iowa State has one of the best defenses in the country, ranking 6th in efficiency. The Cyclones can completely shut down a team, they only gave up 37 points to Grambling, and 44 to Wisconsin-Green Bay. DePaul only managed 54 points when they played San Francisco, and Iowa State has a much stronger defense. There's not enough points in this one.
Take the under.
Prediction: Under
Paul has been a sports fan his entire life, and was an All-Conference basketball player at The University of Scranton. He is currently a high school basketball coach and a mathematics teacher with a Master’s in Business Administration. This unique combination gives Paul the ability to find mismatches from a coach’s perspective while having the ability to analyze statistical data to spot advantages. Paul will provide you with an array of statistics, trends, and analytics to prepare for any match-up. Follow Paul for up-to-date analysis and all your betting needs. We are thrilled to have Paul on our team.
