Wyoming Cowboys vs Wichita State Shockers Prediction, 3/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wyoming Cowboys vs Wichita State Shockers

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Location: Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, KS

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Wyoming (+6)

The Wichita State Shockers (22-11) will compete against the Wyoming Cowboys (18-14) at Charles Koch Arena on Tuesday in the 1st round of the NIT. Wyoming opens this game as 6-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 147.

The Wyoming Cowboys stepped onto the hardwood against UNLV and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 73-70 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Cowboys walked away with 21 while UNLV totaled 18 personal fouls. They also made 8 of their 21 tries from distance. UNLV shot 61.3% at the free throw line by burying 19 of their 31 tries. On top of that, UNLV grabbed 34 rebounds (10 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. UNLV doled out 13 assists and had 4 steals in this game. Pertaining to defending, Wyoming allowed the other team to go 44.2% from the field on 23 out of 52 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and getting 2 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected a total of 39 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Cowboys knocked down 15 of their 20 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. Wyoming wrapped up the game with a 37.1% FG percentage (26 out of 70) and buried 3 out of their 21 shots from distance.

Gavin Gores is someone who came through in the game. He totaled 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played 29 mins and also collected 5 rebounds. He finished the game at 54.5% from the field but didn't record a dime.

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Wyoming enters this one with a record of 18-14 so far this season. They cough up possession 11.0 times per contest and as a team they commit 20.8 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Wyoming is snagging 35.6 boards per game and is sitting with 447 assists on the season, which is 184th in the nation in terms of passing. The Cowboys are shooting 33.0% on three-point attempts (262 of 795) and 74.4% from the free throw line. They average 77.1 pts per game (150th in D-1) while hitting 45.3% from the field.

On defense, the Cowboys have forced 11.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.4 fouls. They are giving up 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 152nd in college hoops in PPG allowed (73.0). The Cowboys defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.0% (782 of 1,700) and they relinquish 31.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 17th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 353 relinquished for the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Wichita State Shockers took a loss by a score of 70-55 against South Florida. The Shockers pulled down 26 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the contest. They gave up possession 13 times, while getting 7 steals for the contest. South Florida committed 20 fouls for the contest which got the Shockers to the free throw line for 20 attempts. They were able to make 13 of the free throws for a rate of 65.0%. Concerning shooting from distance, Wichita State converted 4 out of their 19 tries (21.1%). When the game finished, the Shockers finished shooting 19 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 33.9%. The Shockers permitted South Florida to convert 23 of their 61 tries from the field which left them shooting 37.7% for the game. They shot 27.3% from 3-point land by shooting 6 of 22 and ended up shooting 18 of 23 at the free throw line (78.3%). When discussing rebounding, Wichita State allowed South Florida to collect 33 in total (11 offensive).

Dillon Battie ended up being a major contributor for the Shockers in this matchup. He had 15 points in his 27 mins on the hardwood and added 1 assist in the matchup. He knocked down 6 of 8 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 5 rebounds.

Wichita State has a win-loss mark of 22-11 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Shockers are shooting 44.2% from the floor, which ranks them 241st in college hoops. Wichita State has scored 2,562 points for the campaign (77.6 per contest) and they pull in 41.0 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 11.6 times per contest (335th in the nation) and they turn it over 10.4 times per game. The Shockers commit 17.4 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.0% from the charity stripe.

The Wichita State defense allows 31.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (209 of 670) and their opposition knocks down 70.8% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.9 dimes and 34.1 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 20th and 154th in college. The Shockers are ranked 85th in the country in PPG surrendered with 70.4. They are forcing 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.1% from the floor (65th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Wyoming (+6)

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