The No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones covered Monday against No. 2 Houston thanks to a late garbage-time free throw and a non-foul in the closing minutes of their 73-65 defeat.
With Iowa State getting 8.5 points, Cyclones guard Dasonte Bowen connected on two free throws with 24.1 seconds remaining that made it an eight-point game.
Houston then inbounded the ball as the Cyclones’ defense swarmed with full-court defense, trapping the player with the ball.
Despite looking like a foul was coming, the Cougars made the right passes, got the ball past half court and the Cyclones decided to back off with 14 seconds left.
The cover for Iowa State was a win for the public bettors at BetMGM Sportsbook, with the Cyclones attracting 67 percent of the handle on spread markets.
Iowa State initially opened as a 9.5-point underdog but moved down to +8.5 by game time, both of which lines covered Monday night.
Post-Action betting’s Michael Arinze recommended the over on the total for this game, which closed at 133.5 despite opening at 128.5.
The over was a winner for Arinze as well as the bettors who moved the total five points, as 63 percent of the money was on the over. The total came in at 138.
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It wasn’t all roses, though, as the losing Cyclones garnered 58 percent of the handle on the moneyline (+375 at open, closed +340).
While 58 percent of the handle is the majority, it falls in comparison to the 85 percent of tickets that were on Iowa State.
The fact that 15 percent of tickets and 42 percent of the money was on the Cougars would theoretically point to a few sharp minds putting in larger bets on the favorites.