Tennessee State Tigers vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee State Tigers vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Tennessee State (+25)

The Iowa State Cyclones (27-7) will play the Tennessee State Tigers (23-9) at Enterprise Center on Friday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee State is 25-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 148.5.

The Tennessee State Tigers stepped onto the hardwood against Morehead State and walked away with a win by a score of 93-67 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Tigers ended up walking away with 16 while Morehead State totaled 14 personal fouls. They also buried 6 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. Morehead State shot 86.4% at the free throw line by burying 19 of 22 shots. On top of that, Morehead State totaled 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Morehead State recorded 9 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. When discussing defense, Tennessee State allowed the other team to go 36.2% from the field on 21 out of 58 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 10 turnovers and having 6 steals. With regard to hauling in boards, they earned 39 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Tigers knocked down 11 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 84.6%. Tennessee State ended having earned a 49.3% field goal percentage (33 out of 67) and made 16 of 26 3-pointers.

Antoine Lorick III is someone who came through in this matchup. He totaled 18 points on 6 out of 9 shooting. He played for 23 minutes and also totaled 5 boards. He finished the contest at 66.7% from the floor and earned 1 assist.

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Tennessee State will take the court with a win-loss mark of 23-9 this season. They are turning it over 12.2 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.1 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Tennessee State is pulling in 38.0 rebounds per game and has earned 422 assists on the campaign, which is 242nd in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Tigers are shooting 33.1% on shots from downtown (204 of 616) and 76.5% from the free throw line. They have an average of 80.5 points per outing (75th in Division 1) while hitting 46.0% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Tigers are forcing 14.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They rank 103rd in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 404 relinquished so far this season. The Tigers defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.4% (809 of 1,823) and they relinquish 33.7 boards per game as a team. They are surrendering 32.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 165th in college in PPG from their opponents (73.3).

The last time they took the court, the Iowa State Cyclones took a loss by a score of 82-80 when they faced Arizona. The Cyclones were able to snag 16 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 26 for the contest. They coughed it up 11 times, while recording 8 steals for the contest. Arizona committed 14 fouls in this matchup which took the Cyclones to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They were able to make 4 of those for a percentage of 50.0%. In regard to shooting from 3-point land, Iowa State knocked down 14 out of their 31 attempts (45.2%). When the game finished, the Cyclones shot 31 for 66 from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.0%. The Cyclones permitted Arizona to knock down 32 of their 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.2% for the game. They finished 50.0% from distance via 8 of 16 and ended up going 10 out of 16 at the free throw line (62.5%). In relation to how they rebounded, Iowa State allowed Arizona to pull down 31 in total (11 offensive).

Milan Momcilovic was important for the Cyclones for the matchup. He converted 10 of 18 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and tallied 5 rebounds. He scored 28 points in his 36 minutes of playing time, but didn't record an assist.

Iowa State has a win-loss record of 27-7 for the year. The Cyclones are responsible for committing 16.0 fouls every game and they connect on 67.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 17.2 times per game (21st in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per contest. Iowa State has tallied 2,781 points on the year (81.8 per game) and they grab 35.6 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Cyclones are connecting on 49.0% from the field, which ranks them 23rd in college.

The Cyclones on defense are ranked 12th in the nation in PPG given up with 65.1. They are forcing 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 42.6% from the field (90th in college hoops). The Iowa State defense surrenders 32.1% on 3-point shots (256 of 797) and opponents are knocking down 71.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 12.7 dimes and 31.0 rebounds every game, which is ranked 127th and 24th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tennessee State (+25)

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