Bad news for sports bettors: College football’s bowl season has reached its conclusion, minus next week’s national-title clash of No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia.
Good news for sports bettors: College basketball’s regular season has made the glorious calendar turn to 2022, meaning the vast majority of remaining games will be conference clashes.
Tonight’s marquee matchup serves as Wednesday’s only head-to-head clash of Top 25 teams.
There’s even more at stake for the home team, which will attempt to snap its ongoing streak of 22 consecutive regular-season league losses — an ignominious run that hearkens back to Leap Day 2020.
No. 25 Texas Tech at No. 11 Iowa State
Tipoff Time: 9 p.m. EST
Venue: Hilton Coliseum (Ames, IA)
TV: ESPNU
Texas Tech: 10-2 SU/6-6 ATS
Iowa State: 12-1 SU/9-4 ATS
Odds: Side & Total
| Sportsbook | Spread | Total |
| BetMGM | Iowa State -4.5 (-110) | 126.5 |
| Caesars | Iowa State -4.5 (-110) | 127 |
| DraftKings | Iowa State -4.5 (-110) | 127 |
| FanDuel | Iowa State -4 (-110) | 127.5 |
| PointsBet USA | Iowa State -4.5 (-110) | 126.5 |
*Odds updated as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
Betting Trends
Texas Tech
- The Red Raiders are 1-8 ATS in their last nine road games
- Texas Tech is 0-4 ATS in its last four following a straight-up win
- The Under is 6-1 in the Red Raiders’ last seven meetings against opponents winning at a .600 clip or better
- Texas Tech is 4-0 to the Under in its last four after an ATS setback. The totals: 124, 124, 109, and 136 points
Iowa State
- The Cyclones are 5-1 ATS in their last six overall
- Iowa State is 4-1 ATS in its last five home outings
- The Cyclones have covered the spread in their last seven matchups against teams with a .600-plus winning percentage
- The Over is 5-1 in Iowa State’s last six Wednesday games. The totals: 147, 152, 152, 139, 143, and 151 points
The Series
- The favorite has cashed in each of the last five head-to-head meetings
- Texas Tech has won the last four meetings by 20 points or more
Odds & Ends
— With DraftKings, Texas Tech has the 20th-best odds to win the NCAA title (+4,500 — tied with LSU and Arkansas). Down the line, Iowa State (0-1 in Big 12) slots 32nd on the national championship odds board (+8,000), along with Louisville, Indiana, Virginia Tech, and St. Bonaventure.
— Against power-conference or nationally-ranked teams this season, Texas Tech has a 1-2 record to the Over, with the lone “victory” being a 72-68 loss to Providence on Dec. 1 (136.5 pregame total).
— Citing the same category, Iowa State has a 2-4 record to the Over against power-conference or ranked programs — 149 vs. Baylor (beating the 133 pregame total), 126 vs. Iowa (falling short of the 151 total), 122 at Creighton (missing the 137.5 total), 138 vs. Memphis (shorting the 140.5), 152 vs. Xavier (toppling the 136.5), and 110 vs. Oregon State (eclipsing the 143).
— Texas Tech has a 2-8 SU record against ranked road or neutral-site opponents, going back to March 2020. Charting the combined totals from the 10 contests — 124, 109, 134, 133, 161, 128, 175, 156, 117, and 139 points — only three went below tonight’s popular tally of 127 points.
— Dating back to January 2019, Iowa State is 2-8 SU at home against ranked opponents. The combined totals: 149, 148, 122, 148, 141, 120, 132, 142, 153, and 137 points.
— Charting Texas Tech’s last 13 SU victories, as of March 2021, 12 wins had a margin of 10 or more points. The Red Raiders also scored at least 65 points in 12 of the 13 wins. The lone exception: A 57-52 overtime victory over No. 13 Tennessee on Dec. 7.
— Twelve of Iowa State’s last 14 wins have been double-digit routs. The average victory margin during this period was 16.1 points, with the Cyclones enjoying four 20-plus-point wins.
— This season, Texas Tech and its opponents are averaging 136.3 combined points per game, whereas Iowa State and its foes are averaging 130.7 points per outing.
— Player to Watch: Iowa State senior guard Izaiah Brockington has been a stellar addition to the Cyclones program, leading the team in points (17.0 per game) and rebounds (8.4 per contest), while posting blistering shooting rates from the field (50 percent) and beyond the arc (42.3 percent). The 6-foot-4 Penn State transfer has two double-doubles for the season, including the 20-point, 13-rebound effort against Chicago State. On Saturday, Brockington tallied 18 points and eight rebounds in Iowa State’s 77-72 loss to No. 1 Baylor.
