The Cyclones did everything but win tonight. Missing the front end of a two-shot foul was important.
The 2000 team lost in Boulder in an OT forced by a 60 foot 3. Tonight was the same.
The difference is that Arizona is a lot better than that Buffaloes squad.
Our Cyclones can play high level basketball on the road against quality teams. But closing out games is harder. Gotta do the little things.
We at CSJ don't endorse gambling, but we do watch what the bookmakers do. They have money on the lines, so to speak.
Iowa State is at 7.5 football wins for 2024, with the under being the much safer bet.
The rest of the B12 -
Kansas State 9.5
Utah 9.5
Arizona 8.5
Kansas 8.5
Texas Tech 8.5
UCF 8.5
Oklahoma State 7.5
TCU 7.5
West Virginia 6.5
Baylor 5.5
Cincy 5.5
Colorado 5.5
Arizona State 4.5
BYU 4.5
Houston 4.5
Iowa State's schedule, in order:
North Dakota (no line)
at TOE 7.5
Arkansas State (no line)
at Houston 4.5
Baylor 5.5
at West Virginia 6.5
UCF 8.5
Texas Tech 8.5
at Kansas (Arrowhead) 8.5
Cincy 5.5
at Utah 9.5
Kansas State 9.5
Holy backloaded schedule, Batman.
It is easy to see how Vegas arrived at the 7.5 number. Assume losses to the four teams with futures of 8.5 or above and the annual rake stepping that is the game against the GoBlas may preserve or ruin your ticket. Yikes.
The way-to-early ranking of the games by difficulty:
North Dakota
Arkansas State
Cincy
Baylor
at Houston
(huge gap)
at West Virginia
UCF
Tech
at Kansas (Arrowhead)
Kansas State
at TOE (probable score of 3-0 either way)
at Utah
Hitting the over against that schedule will be a big success. The league is going to be entertaining as heck. Grab the popcorn.
