Oklahoma Meets Iowa State in Big 12 Semifinal
Tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas, Missouri, the Oklahoma Sooners ranked No. 14 in the nation play the No. 15 ranked Iowa State Cyclones in one of the semifinals of the Big 12.
Oklahoma this season is 22-9 straight up and 15-14 against the spread. Over their past 10 games played, the Sooners are 8-2 SU and 4-6 ATS.
Iowa State this season is 23-8 SU and 15-12 ATS. Over their last 10 games played, the Cyclones are 7-3 SU and 6-3 ATS. The current line has this game as a pick ‘em.
Iowa State was down by double-digits in its quarterfinal game against Texas and never took the lead until a jumper swished through the net with no time left on the clock to give Iowa State a 69-67 win.
Oklahoma reached the semifinals with a 64-49 victory over in-state rivals Oklahoma State. Oklahoma had some troubles early against the Cowboys. The Sooners scored just 21 points during the first half, which was a low for the season, before dominating the second 10 minutes of the second half.
Iowa State looked like they would be eliminated by Texas but a 12-0 run to end the game gave the Cyclones a new life and an opportunity to play Oklahoma.
Iowa State has six players who average double digits in scoring. Georges Niang leads the team in scoring and had 22 points and 6 assists against Texas.
Buddy Hield the Player of the Year in the Big 12 did not shoot well against Oklahoma State hitting just 5 of his 15 shots for the Sooners, but still scored 22 points through his 3-point field goals and free throws.
Hield scored 16 of his 22 in the second half as the team bettered its 23.3% shooting from the first half.
The two teams split their two meetings during the regular season with both teams winning the game played on their home court.
Hield is now 19th in career scoring at Oklahoma with 1,299 points. He passed both Cameron Clark and current Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin, with his 22 points on Thursday. Niang recorded two baskets from 3-point territory against Texas and move into eighth in school history with 130 made from that range.
The UNDER has cashed in 4 of the past 5 games between the two teams. The favorite has covered the spread in 6 of the past 8 games between the two teams.
Iowa State could feel a bit of a letdown after such a heroic effort against Texas. If the Cyclones can stay close in the first half then they will have a shot in the second half.
