The No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones will be without starting guard Keshon Gilbert for the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 opener against No. 14 Lipscomb on Friday afternoon.
Iowa State and head coach TJ Otzelberger have dropped two of its last four games, including a couple of losses to the BYU Cougars down the stretch in the regular season and the Big 12 Tournament last week. In the last seven games, Iowa State has only three wins.
Injuries kneecapped Iowa State's bid for the Big 12 Tournament crown last week. Multiple starting guards for Iowa State missed at least the last game in the tourney against BYU and the Cincinnati Bearcats in the quarterfinals.
Lipscomb caught fire down the stretch during the regular season in the ASUN, winning 11 of its last dozen games going into the postseason. The Bisons defeated North Alabama by double-digits to secure the ASUN Tournament crown a couple of weeks ago.
How to watch Lipscomb vs Iowa State
- Date: Friday, March 21
- Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
- How to Watch (TV): TNT
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Lipscomb record: 25-9 (14-4 ASUN)
- Iowa State record: 24-9 (13-7 Big 12)
Lipscomb vs Iowa State odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Lipscomb +890
- Iowa State -1700
Spread
- Lipscomb +14.5 (-102)
- Iowa State -14.5 (-120)
Total
- 142.5 (over -115/under -105)
Lipscomb injury report
- Dylan Faulkner, F: Out (foot)
Iowa State injury report
- Tamin Lipsey, G: Probable (groin)
- Keshon Gilbert, G: Out (undisclosed)
- Conrad Hawley, F: Out (shoulder)
Lipscomb and Iowa State series history
Lipscomb all-time record vs. Iowa State: 0-1 (0.000 winning percentage)
Lipscomb vs Iowa State prediction
The good news for Iowa State is that the Cyclones are expected to get junior guard Tamin Lipsey back from a lower-body injury that caused him to miss their last Big 12 Tournament game vs. BYU. Lipsey is Iowa State's best perimeter defender, averaging over two steals per game since 2023, which should help tamp down Lipscomb's red-hot outside shooting.
Lipscomb ranked second in the ASUN, shooting over 39 percent from beyond the arc in conference play this past regular season.
Iowa State's depth, size, and plethora of scoring options on the offensive end should make the upset path for Lipscomb for the Round of 64 difficult. The Cyclones not only boast one of the stingiest perimeter defenses in the major conferences, but they also ranked third in the Big 12 in opponent field goal percentage.