Iowa State vs. Mississippi March Madness Preview and Prediction
In the No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup in the NCAA Tournament South Region, the Iowa State Cyclones face the Mississippi Rebels in second-round action.
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How to Watch Iowa State vs. Mississippi
When: 7:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 23rd
Where: Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI
Watch: truTV
Odds for Iowa State vs. Mississippi
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Iowa State -5.5 (-110), Mississippi +5.5 (-110)
Total: Over 145.5 (-115), Under 145.5 (-105)
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | Iowa State vs. Mississippi Matchup Page
Iowa State vs. Team Preview & Prediction
No Keshon Gilbert, no problem for Iowa State, as they never even gave Lipscomb a chance in the first round. The Cyclones trailed 16-15 early, took an 18-16 lead, and never trailed again. Iowa State only had eight free-throw attempts in the game, but shot 58% from the floor and nearly 37% from 3. Joshua Jefferson may end up being a March hero, as he had 10 points, eight rebounds, and tied a season-high with eight assists. He has 19 assists in the last three games to help the cause in Gilbert’s absence.
As for Ole Miss, they jumped on what felt like a weary North Carolina bunch to lead by 18 at the half. The Tar Heels had to win their way into the first round with a quick stop in Dayton to knock off San Diego State after playing three games in three days in the ACC Tournament, including a heartbreaking loss to Duke. UNC got pushed around on the glass and the legs looked tired on distance shots. They made a valiant second-half effort, but ultimately fell just short.
The Rebels, who shot the lights out in the first half, seemed to take full advantage. This was not a good shooting team at all during the season, with Ole Miss outside the top 150 in both 2P% and 3P%. They were also outside the top 200 in 2P% defense and outside the top 100 in 3P% defense. Not only that, but the first-half offensive rebounding performance against UNC was a tremendous outlier, as Chris Beard’s bunch ranked in the 310s in ORB% coming into that game.
Where Ole Miss did excel, though, is in the turnover department. They’re a top-15 team at taking care of the basketball and a borderline top-30 team at taking it away. If there’s a matchup where the loss of Gilbert could come into play, it’s this one, as he led the team in assists with just over four of them per game.
Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger has his fourth tournament team in four years and his 2022 and 2024 teams have made the Sweet 16. We’ll see if he can break the even-year pattern with a win here.
Estimated Score: Iowa State 74.2, Ole Miss 70.9
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