College Basketball Picks Today: Iowa State & Indiana Seek Revenge

Late in the conference regular season, the Indiana Hoosiers and Iowa State Cyclones suffered unfortunate losses at the hands of Oregon and BYU, respectively.

On Thursday, Indiana and Iowa State will have an opportunity to avenge those regular season losses in their conference tournaments.

Can the Hoosiers and Cyclones get the job done? Keep reading below to find out!

The following odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Place a $5 wager at FanDuel Sportsbook and receive $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins.

Indiana @ Oregon Odds

• Date: Thursday, March 13

• Time: Noon EST

• Moneyline: Indiana +114 | Oregon -137

• Spread: Indiana +2.5 (-118) | Oregon -2.5 (-104)

• Total: Over 143.5 (-105) | Under 143.5 (-115)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change. 

PICK: Indiana +2.5 (-118) at FanDuel

Oregon and Indiana faced off just over one week ago, with the Ducks pulling away in the final minute to secure a home win. 

However, the Hoosiers kept the game close and put together a very respectable effort.

The Hoosiers actually held Oregon to just 39% shooting from the field and 24% from 3-point range on its home floor.

The noticeable difference in that game was the free-throw disparity: Oregon shot 14 more free throws than Indiana, and both teams were very physical.

Let’s chalk it off to home-court advantage. But the Ducks won’t have that in this matchup, as the Big Ten Tournament takes place on a “neutral” court. 

Unfortunately for Oregon, that neutral court is in Indianapolis, which is only a stone’s throw from Bloomington.

Further, the Hoosiers have been playing inspired basketball since it was announced that head coach Mike Woodson would not return next season. 

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Indiana Prediction

Indiana has been playing much closer to its preseason expectations over the past few weeks, racking up a road win against Michigan State and home wins against Purdue and Ohio State.

The Hoosiers have finally made some key lineup adjustments that opened up their offensive attack.

They now start Luke Goode and Anthony Leal, who are excellent defenders and can shoot the 3-point ball at a high clip. 

Limiting the Ballo-Reneau minutes has been one of the best changes Indiana has made.

Oregon Prediction

Since their awful five-game slide in January, the Oregon Ducks have been one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, winning seven consecutive games.

In that span, the Ducks have shot just shy of 46% from the field and 38% from 3-point range while holding opponents to an effective field goal percentage below 50%.

However, Oregon got a favorable home whistle in its game against Indiana, shooting 14 more free throws than the Hoosiers. 

If Indiana holds Oregon to sub-40% shooting from the floor like it did in the first game, this could be a challenging game for the Ducks.

Iowa State @ BYU Odds

• Date: Thursday, March 13

• Time: 12:30 pm EST

• Moneyline: Iowa State -150 | BYU +125

• Spread: Iowa State -2.5 (-115) | BYU +2.5 (-105)

• Total: Over 145.5 (-110) | Under 145.5 (-110)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Iowa State ML (-150) at FanDuel

There will be two keys to this game for the Cyclones: rebounding and 3-point defense.

Iowa State allowed BYU to knock down 11 3-pointers and reel in 17 offensive rebounds when these teams faced off earlier in March. That is obviously not a recipe for success.

In fact, the only reason that the Cyclones were able to keep the game close is because BYU committed an unthinkable 29 turnovers.

Turnovers have been a problem for the Cougs but they have a significant advantage on the glass and rank 21st nationally in percentage of points from 3-pointers on an efficient 37% clip.

Still, I think the Cyclones clean up the defensive rebounding issues and tighten up on the perimeter to hold off BYU. They have more experience and cohesion.

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Iowa State Prediction

After returning most of their key players from last year’s Big 12 Tournament championship team, the Iowa State Cyclones seemed destined to compete for a regular season title in 2024-25.

Unfortunately, despite a hot 5-0 start in Big 12 play, the Cyclones were unable to keep up with Houston, as they lost four of their following six games.

Iowa State has the sixth-best defense in the country this season but has, at times, given up too many clean 3-point looks to opponents. 

BYU was one of the teams that had their way with the Iowa State perimeter defense, knocking down 11 3-pointers in their last meeting.

It will take a much more concerted effort in defending the 3-point line and cleaning the defensive glass if the Cyclones want to advance in the Big 12 Tournament.

BYU Prediction

Besides Houston, the BYU Cougars had the longest winning streak to end conference play in the Big 12, stringing together eight consecutive victories.

During that span, the Cougars have been one of the most efficient offensive teams nationally, shooting over 50% from the floor in one of the toughest conferences. 

Their effective field goal percentage of 59.1% has been eye-popping, but defense remains a relative weakness.

Due to their recent play, the Cougs have surged to 24th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin metric behind their 12th-ranked offense.