Iowa State Cyclones vs Miami Hurricanes Betting Preview/Prop Pick

We have reached the Sweet 16 Round of the NCAA Tournament, and there are four games set for Friday night. The Iowa State Cyclones take on the Miami Hurricanes in Chicago in one such game, and this is a battle of double-digit seeds.

Iowa State has a pair of five-point wins so far in the NCAA Tournament, and they have beaten two quality opponents. The Cyclones got past LSU in the First Round and then stunned Wisconsin in the Second Round to reach the Sweet 16 as a number 11 seed.

Miami was given the ten seed in the Midwest Region, but they felt like a team that was slightly underseeded. The Hurricanes upset USC in the First Round and then blew out number two seed Auburn in the Second Round. 

The Miami Hurricanes are 2.5-point betting favorites over the Iowa State Cyclones in the Midwest Region. 

Cyclones Harassing Opponents

The old adage says that “Defense wins championships,” and Iowa State is using that mantra and running with it in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa State is giving up just 52.5 points per game, and that has come against two pretty good offensive teams. 

While the defense has been great for Iowa State, this team has really struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Cyclones have failed to reach 60 points in each of their first two wins, and that could create some real problems in this game. 

Izaiah Brockington is scoring over 17 points per game for the Cyclones, but he needs some of his teammates to step up and shoot it well. 

Miami Making Big Plays

Miami is a team that has not struggled on the offensive end of the floor as they are scoring close to 75 points per game on the year. The Hurricanes have plenty of size and experience at the guard position, and that will make things difficult for Iowa State.

Kameron McGusty leads the team with 17.5 points per game, but Isaiah Wong is another player that can score in a hurry. Miami doesn’t always shoot it well from the three-point line, but they can really get to the hoop. 

The Hurricanes are giving up some points this season, but they also know that they can get those right back on the offensive end of the floor.

Miami Moves on To Elite Eight

The Iowa State defense has been terrific so far in the NCAA Tournament, but the same can’t be said for the offense. It’s going to take a great shooting night by Iowa State to win this game, and they just don’t have enough shooters on the roster. 

Miami has plenty of terrific scorers on the team, and they have already pulled off some impressive upsets during the regular season. The Hurricanes won’t be frustrated by the Iowa State defense as they will simply play too fast to be stopped.

This game looks pretty tight on paper, but it’s not going to play out like that on Friday. Take the Miami Hurricanes -2.5 as they win this game by double-digits.

Prop Pick

Iowa State (-105) UNDER 65.5 Points

Iowa State is averaging 67.3 points per game on offense, which ranks No. 277 in the nation, while shooting 32.6 percent from 3-pt range, which ranks No. 242. Scores have gone UNDER in four of the Cyclones’ last five games overall.

With Dunkel predicting a Miami victory by the score of 79-63, take the Cyclones (-105) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 65.5 points against the Hurricanes.

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