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College Basketball Final Four Futures Best Bets: Iowa State Cyclones are built to make a run

NBC Sports
·2 min read
3

Vaughn Dalzell breaks down his first Final Four bet of the season, a ride with the Iowa State Cyclones out of the Big 12 Conference.

Iowa State to Make The Final Four (+550)

One of the teams starting to gain some traction in the College Basketball Futures market is the Iowa State Cyclones.

Having a guard like sophomore Tamin Lipsey (12.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.7 RPG) in March is important, plus Iowa State has three juniors or seniors in the starting lineup with three seniors off the bench.

This is an experienced/veteran Cyclones squad that wants to avenge a loss in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed to Pitt last year (59-41). Iowa State went 2-of-21 from three (0.9%) with seven seniors in the rotation and Lipsey as a freshman point guard.

Lipsey got much-needed experience and was a part of a defense that forced 15 turnovers that day. Iowa State has grown a lot since last season and their defense will cause a lot of problems for teams in the tournament this year.

The Cyclones are a combined 17-1 in Quads 2, 3, and 4 this season with a 7-5 record in Quad 1. Iowa State hasn't played any neutral court games since November, but went 5-4 on the road, losing by 2 and 8 to the likes of Baylor and Houston.

Iowa State has the second-best defensive efficiency and defensive turnover percentage in the country, ranking behind only Houston. The Cyclones are an elite defensive unit with a top-75 offense that offensive rebounds well and can play at any tempo.

The Cyclones are one of the best teams in the country and showed that with their 24-6 record (13-4 in Big 12). Iowa State has been the No. 6 and No. 7 ranked team since January and February per Barttorvik, staying consistent in the toughest conference.

Odds are the selection committee won't put Iowa State in the same region as Houston, meaning the Cyclones will be with either UConn, Purdue or Arizona/Tennessee. I like the chances Iowa State could take down a Purdue, Arizona or Tennessee.

I grabbed Iowa State at +550 to make the Final Four on BetMGM. These odds moved down from +650 this past week on FanDuel and down to +425 on DraftKings.

Pick: Iowa State to make the Final Four (1u)

CBB Futures In My Pocket:

1u: Houston win the National Championship (+700)
1u: Iowa State to make the Final Four (+550)
1u: South Florida to win the AAC Tournament (+500)
1u: Illinois to win the Big Ten Tournament (+500)
0.1u: Ohio State to win the Big Ten Tournament (+5000)

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