The No. 6 seed Iowa State Cyclones (19-13, 10-10 Big 12) take on the No. 11 seed Pittsburgh Panthers (23-11, 15-7 ACC) Friday at Greensboro Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pittsburgh narrowly defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 60-59 at University of Dayton Arena on Tuesday in the First Four. Nelly Cummings was the standout player with 15 points.
Iowa State lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tourney on Friday at T-Mobile Center, falling to the Kansas Jayhawks 71-58. Jaren Holmes had 16 points to top the scoresheet in the loss. With 11 points, Robert Jones also impressed.
Blake Hinson and Jamarius Burton, averaging 15.5 and 14.4 points per game, respectively, are leading the Panthers in scoring this season. Hinson also has grabbed 6.1 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Cummings is dishing 4.8 assists per game.Holmes (13.4 ppg) and Gabe Kalscheur (12.9) have been the primary providers for the Cyclones on offense.
Osun Osunniyi is collecting 4.0 rebounds per game, and Tamin Lipsey is doling out 4.5 assists. The Panthers rank 29th in the country in offensive efficiency, while the Cyclones are 30th in defensive efficiency.
In the last 10 games, Pittsburgh is 6-4 with an average margin of +1.8 (78.2-76.4). For the season, the Panthers are averaging 75.6 points per game, compared to 70.1 for opponents.
Iowa State has gone 3-7 over the last 10, allowing 66.6 points per game on average while scoring only 63.4 (-3.2 margin). The Cyclones are averaging 68.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 62.8.
PANTHERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Nike Sibande: 19.4 | 13.7 | +5.7
Greg Elliott: 9.8 | 15.5 | -5.7
Points per game:
Nike Sibande: 13.6 | 8.5 | +5.1
Greg Elliott: 6.6 | 10.5 | -3.9
Rebounds per game:
Federiko Federiko: 4.0 | 5.5 | -1.5
CYCLONES HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Tre King: 12.2 | 7.0 | +5.2
Caleb Grill: 3.3 | 12.4 | -9.0
Points per game:
Gabe Kalscheur: 16.4 | 12.9 | +3.5
Caleb Grill: 2.3 | 7.9 | -5.6
Rebounds per game:
Robert Jones: 4.8 | 3.8 | +1.1
Osun Osunniyi: 2.8 | 4.0 | -1.2
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Pittsburgh (+155)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
