Two of the best teams in college basketball, the Iowa State Cyclones and the Arizona Wildcats, face off in the semifinals of the 2026 Big 12 tournament. Arizona beat Iowa State 73-57 on March 2 in their first matchup of the season. The winner of this game faces the winner of Kansas vs. Houston in Saturday’s Big 12 tournament championship.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Arizona is -3.5 on the spread while the Cyclones are a +154 underdog. Check out my best bet for the Iowa State vs. Arizona contest below.
Iowa State vs. Arizona (7:00 p.m. ET)
Arizona has won seven consecutive games and beat UCF 81-59 in its first game in the Big 12 tournament. Although Jaden Bradley won Big 12 player of the year, Brayden Burries has been the Wildcats’ best player recently. Burries has scored at least 21 points in four of the previous five contests.
In their first game, Arizona held Iowa State to 57 points, 29 percent from the field, and 23 percent from three-point range. Arizona has a well-balanced attack in this game, with six players scoring eight or more points. Iowa State is coming off a 22-point victory over Texas Tech in this tournament. The Cyclones top three players are Milan Momcilovic, Joshua Jefferson, and Tamin Lipsey. Jefferson has scored at least 18 points in four of his previous six contests.
Arizona is ranked No. 3, with Iowa State being No. 7 on KenPom. The Wildcats offensive rating is ranked 16 spots higher, while their defensive rating is two spots ahead of the Cyclones. Arizona averages five more points per game and has a deeper rotation than Iowa State. The Wildcats’ last nine victories have come by at least four points, and it is surprising to see this line so close, given that Arizona beat Iowa State 11 days ago by 16 points. Iowa State is 3-0 since playing Arizona, but has beaten Arizona State and Texas Tech, both of which have struggled lately. All six of Iowa State’s losses this season have been by four-plus points.
