East meets West when Iona and BYU hook up in the West Regional play-in game Tuesday night.
The Gaels, who got an at-large berth to the tournament after winning the MAAC regular-season title, are getting two points from the Cougars, who somewhat surprisingly received an at-large invitation as the third-place team in the WCC.
BYU is 1-5 ATS past 6 games, but just 3-8 ATS past 11 games in March. Iona meanwhile is just 4-14 SU past 18 games as small underdog of 4 or less points.
The game is being played at Dayton Arena, which makes it technically a neutral site match.
The Cougars currently sports a 25-8 record overall in NCAAB action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 14-15 ATS. The Gaels are 25-7 and 15-15 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Cougars produce a 11-18 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Gaels have gone 16-13-1 against the number.
View Iona vs BYU Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
The Gaels are listed as 1-point underdogs at many online sportsbooks such as Sportsbook. [ Bracket contest - visit Sportsbook ]
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 14 (Cougars) and the No. 136 (Gaels) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 87-86 result in favor of the Cougars has been projected by the scores prediction engine.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits BYU's No. 13-ranked offense, averaging 78.2 PPG, against a Gaels defense that ranks No. 297 at 72.6 PPG. The Cougars field goal percentage has averaged 46.8% so far, less than the Gaels marksmen have achieved on the year, 50.4% per game.
Defensively, Iona features the nation's No. 164-rated defense on the road, allowing 69.1 points per game. BYU, meanwhile, comes in at No. 14 nationally in scoring at home.
Iona was an 85-75 loser in their most recent outing at home against Fairfield. They failed to cover the 4.5-point spread as favorites. Iona suffered an 85-75 loss against Fairfield on Sunday, getting 24 points from Scott Machado in a losing effort at MassMutual Center.
BYU lost its last outing, a 77-58 result against Gonzaga on March 3. They failed to cover in that game as a 2.5-point underdog. The Cougars endured a 77-58 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs on Saturday, despite a 17-point effort from Brandon Davies at Orleans Arena.
Iona Gaels Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 7-3
After playing Fairfield are 8-2
After a loss are 8-2
BYU Cougars Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 7-3
After playing Gonzaga are 2-1
After a loss are 10-0
A few Gaels at Cougars trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of BYU's last 5 games
BYU is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
BYU is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
