NCAAB Saturday February 5th #20 Iowa State at #23 Texas Betting Preview
Longhorns Try to Even Up Series
The Cyclones look for the regular season sweep as they travel to Austin for the February 5th Iowa State at Texas betting matchup. ISU took down the Longhorns 79-70 in Ames on January 22nd even as +2.5 home underdogs.
Both squads are coming off losses to ranked teams in their last game, Iowa State losing 70-61 at home against #10 Kansas while the Longhorns fell 77-64 at #14 Texas Tech in Texas coach Chris Beard’s return to Lubbock where he coached from 2016 to 2021. Texas is 5-4 in the Big 12 while Iowa State is just 3-6 in conference play so both teams are sitting far back from 7-1 Kansas.
Tough Order for ISU Offense
Iowa State started off the year 12-0 but but are just 4-6 since then, taking a solid beating in Big 12 play. The Cyclones had put together two straight wins in taking down Oklahoma State 84-81 in OT as +3 road underdogs and with a 67-50 home victory over Missouri to cover the -11 number.
The Cyclones two game win streak came to an end on Tuesday falling 70-61 to Kansas as +1.5 underdogs. The line was a bit on the low side for a matchup with the #10 team in the nation but the Jayhawks were also without the leading scorer in the Pac-12 as Ochai Agbaji (20.9 ppg) was in COVID protocols.
ISU shot 41% from the floor against KU with Izaiah Brockington doing a lot of the heavy lifting with 24 points. Aside from Tre Jackson who was 4-6 from three vs. the Jayhawks, the rest of the Iowa State team was just 1-16 from beyond the arc. Those struggles may continue in the February 5th Iowa State at Texas betting matchup with the Longhorns ranking #1 in the country allowing a mere 55.5 ppg.
Longhorns Try to Even Things Up
Texas lost 79-70 in Ames last month after winning four of the previous five in the head to head series. The home team has won 7 of the last 8 in the series, with the Longhorns getting an 81-67 win in Ames last season as -12 point favorites. Texas is -8.5 for Saturday’s matchup.
Texas hopes for a better showing than they had in Tuesday’s 13 point loss at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders scored 77 points which broke a streak of three straight games where the Longhorns had held opponents to 51 points or less. Iowa State has some quality scorers led by Brockington’s 17.1 ppg. Gabe Kalscheur also had 22 points in the first head to head game while Tyrese Hunter added 13.
The Longhorns’ loss to Texas Tech snapped a three game win streak that was largely fueled by their defense. Marcus Carr had 18 points in the loss but leading scorer Timmy Allen (11.5 ppg) continued his struggles with just 5 points.
February 5th Iowa State at Texas Betting Pick
Texas is 13-1 at home this season and whoever plays on their own court has been pretty dominant in this series over the last several years. With the Longhorns preferring the slower pace and to keep games low scoring, the 8.5 point spread does seem a little on the high side. Iowa State has just enough scoring to keep this game close.
Iowa State 65 – Texas 66
Free Pick: Iowa State +8.5
