The regular season conference schedule winds down as the conference tournaments begin to approach! Teams start jockeying for seeding and perhaps a run toward a long-shot NCAA Tournament spot. So, first, we look at NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets featuring the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones face the West Virginia Mountaineers in a contest where the winner stays on the bubble.
- WHAT: West Virginia Mountaineers versus Iowa State Cyclones
- WHEN: Monday, February 27th, 2023, 9:00 pm ET on ESPN2 or streamed on FUBO TV
- WHERE: James H. Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
- WHY: Big Monday Matchup
The bettors and fans get just as nervous about games like this. The NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets highlight two teams who have an abundance of issues. Now, picking contests of this nature is not something to take lightly. The joke is one almost has to gird their loins. It is a nice way of saying trust your head and roll. After all, neither team is a lock here and that makes a bet here, courtesy of Bovada Online Sportsbook, reasonable based on the current numbers.
NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets Get A Blindfold Ready
NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets get a blindfold ready as Iowa State and West Virginia are on the wrong side of the bubble. So, what happened with Iowa State and West Virginia last week. For the Cyclones, things have gone south overall as the men from Ames have dropped five of their previous six contests. Then, there is West Virginia, who split their games last week with a few closer losses. This becomes a case of who has had the least painful losses.
Honestly, with how these Big 12 games seem to be going, Iowa State as a four-point home favorite seems troubling at least. Did anyone expect that Monday night after the past seven days? Yes, conference play careens toward a finish that expects to include one of the most chaotic Big 12 tournaments in the league's history.
Let's grapple with one of these lower-tiered Big 12 games. Also, we expound a bit on the landscape of the conference in making our picks.
Bob Huggins Has No Margin of Error With West Virginia
The NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets go one foot in on West Virginia. Bob Huggins knows there is no margin of error now. West Virginia has to get as close to .500 in conference as they can then make a deep run in the conference tournament. This represents a very tall hill to climb but Huggins has done this before. Anything can happen on "neutral sites". Teams have come from out of nowhere before.
The other thing which surprises many is that West Virginia's metric from the SRS is higher than Iowa State (16.48 to 16.30). Also, the Mountaineers have faced the fifth toughest schedule in the nation. That explains part of their record. With only five wins in the conference, time is short for West Virginia. They must almost win out then advance probably to the Conference Tournament Final to have a chance.
Those are so many reasons why Bob Huggins and his team have gotten to this point. Let's face facts. The Big 12 has become the toughest conference in the entire NCAA. West Virginia needs more scoring from its top three players. That has been lacking lately and as a result, the Mountaineers literally have a mountain to climb.
So, West Virginia features only one player from the Top 100 GSCI and that does not include Erik Stevenson. If there is one matchup which looms big in this game, it is the frontline clash. Can Jimmy Bell and Tre Mitchell contain the bigs of Iowa State in a hostile environment. The duo did for the most part in their previous matchup which West Virginia won 76-71.
NCAA Big 12 Bubble Game Bets Getting Four Points?
Okay, what about Monday's Big 12 Bubble Game Bets getting a whole four points? The rationale is that there is an extra three points for Iowa State just by being at home. However, the Cyclones seem ill-equipped to close games out lately. These losses for a team that looked better a few weeks ago now become critical themselves. Iowa State likely has to win a conference tournament game, maybe two, to safely make the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia is more cornered. Every game counts. A loss on Monday night is likely the final nail and even makes the NIT far less of a certainty. Over the past ten games, the Mountaineers kept a more even keel at 5-5 with losing four close games. Iowa State, on the other hand, has gone down to defeat in seven of their previous ten contests while struggling offensively (averaging less than 70 points per game).
There is the opinion that West Virginia has a coach who has been here so often. That means a lot in games like this. T.J. Otzelberger has not been able to sustain his team's momentum from last season (22 wins). It is a Cyclones team with bouts of offensive futility. West Virginia has shot 45% over the last month while Iowa State has struggled to stay just above 40% in that time frame. The risk is high but West Virginia can cover here and even win outright.
Over Or Under This Night?
Lastlly, NCAA Basketball Picks ponders the over for tonight. This game saw the over shift several times. The recommendation remains to watch shifts. After all, this contest almost slid down to 132 points. That 134 number still is reasonable. College Basketball Betting dictates to still run with the over.
Examine More Online Sportsbook Reviews
Monday night is light. Examine more online sportsbook reviews and watch those weekend games with these two teams too.
