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Iowa State Faces Upset-Minded Tigers
20 Mar
Summary
- Iowa State, seeded second, faces 15th-seeded Tennessee State.
- The Cyclones are a significant 24.5-point favorite.
- SportsLine's model predicts an over on the 148.5 total points.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament's Midwest Region will see the 15th-seeded Tennessee State Tigers face the second-seeded Iowa State Cyclones on Friday.
The Tigers, entering on a six-game winning streak, secured their spot by defeating Morehead State in the Ohio Valley Conference championship on March 7. Tennessee State finished tied for the OVC regular-season title.
Iowa State, which tied for third in the Big 12, advanced after reaching the conference tournament semifinals. The Cyclones last played on March 13 and have won three of their last four games.
This first-round matchup is scheduled for 2:50 p.m. ET at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Iowa State has a historical 4-0 advantage in the all-time series. Current odds favor Iowa State by 24.5 points, with an over/under set at 148.5 total points.
According to SportsLine's projection model, which simulates games 10,000 times, the total score is expected to go over 148.5 points. The model projects 154 combined points and suggests one side of the spread hits more than 50% of the time. The model also projects Travis Harper II for Tennessee State with 14.1 points and Joshua Jefferson for Iowa State with 20.1 points.
