Kentucky Wildcats vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Iowa State (-4)

The Iowa State Cyclones (28-7) welcome the Kentucky Wildcats (22-13) at Enterprise Center on Sunday in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky is 4-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is 146.

The Kentucky Wildcats faced Santa Clara and notched a win by a score of 89-84 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 17 and Santa Clara finished the game with 20 fouls. They converted 12 of 33 attempts from 3-point range. Santa Clara finished the game at 92.3% when shooting free throws by making 12 of 13 tries. In addition, Santa Clara pulled down 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Santa Clara doled out 17 dimes and had 8 steals in this contest. Regarding the defense, Kentucky let their opponent shoot 41.1% from the floor on 30 of 73 shooting. They also dished out 19 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and having 5 steals. When it comes to pulling down boards, they compiled 39 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 15 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 71.4%. Kentucky finished the game with a 50.8% field goal percentage (32 out of 63) and buried 10 out of their 28 three-point shots.

Otega Oweh is a player who was important in the matchup. He was able to score 35 points on 11 out of 24 shooting. He saw the court for 43 mins played and pulled down 8 rebounds. He finished 45.8% from the floor and also totaled 7 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

Kentucky heads into this game with a mark of 22-13 for the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.5 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, Kentucky is snagging 37.6 boards per game and has tallied 563 assists for the year, which ranks 39th in the nation in terms of passing. The Wildcats are hitting 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (285 of 834) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 81.0 points per game (67th in the nation) while shooting 46.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 10.9 turnovers every game and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 294th in college hoops in giving up assists with 490 conceded for the year. The Wildcats defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.5% (887 of 2,089) and they concede 34.5 boards per game as a group. They are giving up 31.8% from 3-point land and they are 189th in the nation in points per game allowed (74.1).

The last time they took the court, the Iowa State Cyclones took home the win by a final score of 108-74 against Tennessee State. The Cyclones collected 22 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards totaling 37 in this game. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 9 steals for this game. Tennessee State earned 22 personal fouls in this contest which took the Cyclones to the charity stripe for 27 attempts. They were able to convert 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 77.8%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Iowa State made 11 out of their 24 attempts (45.8%). Overall, the Cyclones shot 38 for 72 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.8%. The Cyclones permitted Tennessee State to make 28 of their 65 tries from the field which had them sitting at 43.1% in this game. They shot 23.8% from distance by shooting 5 out of 21 and ended up shooting 13 out of 19 at the free throw line (68.4%). When discussing how they rebounded, Iowa State allowed Tennessee State to get 28 in all (10 offensive).

Killyan Toure pitched in for the Cyclones for the contest. He racked up 25 points in his 30 mins of playing time and had 6 assists for the matchup. He made 8 out of 12 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and accumulated 11 rebounds.

Iowa State has a win-loss record of 28-7 this season. The Cyclones have committed 16.0 fouls per game and they hit 67.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.4 times per game (19th in college) and they are turning it over 10.3 times per game. Iowa State has earned 2,889 pts on the campaign (82.5 per game) and they collect 35.8 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Cyclones are shooting 49.1% from the field, which ranks 18th in D-1.

The Iowa State defense surrenders 31.9% on three-point shots (261 of 818) and their opponents are converting on 71.4% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 12.8 assists and 30.9 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 126th and 24th in those defensive categories. The Cyclones on defense are ranked 13th in the nation in PPG given up with 65.4. They have forced 15.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (92nd in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa State (-4)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here