BYU has one of the more efficient offenses in the country, but they aren’t the same team on the road. Yes, they had a surprisingly win at Arizona, but the Wildcats defense is not in the same conversation as Iowa State’s defense. The Cyclones have one of the best home court advantages in the country with a +21.8 point differential. They’re holding their opponents to less than 62 points per game and in eight of their nine conference home games, they’ve won by 11 points, or more.

BYU is overachieved in its first season under head coach Kevin Young, and this is a spot where I have a hard time seeing the Cougars getting blown out. The Cougs are one of the best shooting teams in the Big 12, and if they get hot from beyond the arc this game will come down to the final minutes.

BYU comes in tonight at 21-8 with 17 covers and 5-5 on the road. They have a good chance to win tonight straight up. They've won and covered their last six straight and shoot 48.8% from the field. What I like most about this team is they shoot with accuracy from long distance, hitting 37.4% of their threes and making 10.7 per game. It's part of their DNA. They also pass the ball well with 17.3 assists per game which is 10th best in the nation. They average 81 points per game. BYU's got it going good right now, I’d like to see if they can make it seven straight and carry some serious momentum into the tournament.

Iowa State is now 19-1 when it has the full eight-man rotation is available and 3-6 when even one player from that group is out. Saturday's 13-point win against Arizona was the first time in a while that the Cyclones were full strength and their caliber showed against a Wildcats team that's currently tied for second in the Big 12 standings. BYU's home-road splits away from Provo are already worth a downgrade, and with Iowa State getting back into a groove at the right time I think the spot sets up well for a strong showing for the home team in Hilton Coliseum.