The Iowa State Cyclones travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to play the Utah Utes in a Tuesday evening matchup at 8:00 PM CT on Fox. While the game has regular-season championship implications, at least for Iowa State, it’s not as crucial for Utah. The Utes had their post-season hopes dashed weeks ago, but in a league like the Big 12, anything can happen! Here’s a preview, prediction, key storylines, and updated odds to keep an eye on in this matchup as we get set for today’s game.
Utah vs. Iowa State Basketball Updated Odds
The Iowa State Cyclones are currently 13.5-point favorites on the road, with an over/under of 142.5 points.
Key Storyline: Avoiding the Slip
Iowa State is right in the middle of a race for the Big 12 regular-season title, and Arizona has a two-game lead on them in conference play. With just four games to go, Iowa State cannot afford to drop a game like this to Utah, which sits at 10-17 overall and an abysmal 2-12 in conference play. The game also falls into a bit of a trap game for the Cyclones as they take on No. 16 Texas Tech and No. 2 Arizona in their next two outings.
Match Up to Watch: Iowa State Offense vs. Utah Defense
If you’ve watched Iowa State play this year, you’d know just how lethal their offensive attack is. They sit in fourth place in the Big 12 this season, averaging 83.1 points per game, all while having three different starters scoring more than 12 PPG. Utah has been awful defensively, sitting in 13th in league standings for defensive metrics, surrendering 78.4 points per contest. If Iowa State comes out rolling, look out.
Prediction: Iowa State 96, Utah 79
Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush here: Iowa State is winning this game and is the much better team. There’s a reason ESPN’s matchup predictor gave Utah less than a 10% chance of winning, and I’m not going to disagree. The only extra element working against them is the fact that they play on the road in SLC, but in all honesty, Utah’s home crowd may have more Iowa State fans in attendance than Ute fans.
