The Iowa State Cyclones (24-9), seeded No. 3 in the South Region, will face the No. 14 seed Lipscomb Bisons (25-9) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee, WI.
The Cyclones bring strong metrics to the Tournament ranking Top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency averaging 80.4 points per game and limiting opponents to 68.1 points per game. The Bisons tied a program record with 25 wins resulting in their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018. They average 79.3 points per game and allow 67.3 points per game.
The winner of this game earns the right to play the winner of the North Carolina vs. Ole Miss game.
Iowa State’s depth and experience should be the difference in this affair but lets dive in a little deeper, offer a little information, and possibly find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Bisons at Cyclones
- Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
- Time: 1:30PM EST
- Site: Fiserv Forum
- City: Milwaukee, WI
- Network/Streaming: TNT
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Lipscomb vs. Iowa State
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Lipscomb Bison (+800), Iowa State Cyclones (-1400)
- Spread: Cyclones -14.5
- Total: 143.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Lipscomb vs. Iowa State
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Bison & Cyclones game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Iowa State -14.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER143.5.
Lipscomb vs. Iowa State: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Lipscomb has won 6 straight but is just 3-3 against the spread in those games (15-10-4 ATS for the season)
- Iowa State is just 6-4 in their last 10 games on the Moneyline
- Iowa State is 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games (17-14 for the season)
- These teams last met in 2011 with Iowa State winning, 81-64, but not covering the 17-point spread as it was a Push
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
