Pick for Indiana vs. Wyoming – First Four (March 15th, 2022)

We have ourselves another First Four showdown prediction, but this time it is Indiana vs. Wyoming. The Hoosiers and Cowboys are fighting for their chances to make it to March Madness, but they have to go through each other first.

This is the biggest game of the year so far for both of these teams. Their seasons haven’t gone perfectly, but they still find themselves with a chance to make the tournament.

Let’s take a look at the odds for this game and my final betting pick.

To kick things off, Indiana will be favored to win this game by about 4 points. The point total is set at a modest 132.5 as well. You can find these exact odds on BetOnline, so head over there to place your bets.

The Cowboys are looking to get back in the tournament for the first time since 2015. They were bounced as the No. 12 seed in the first round to Northern Iowa (No. 5). Indiana made a stronger run in their last appearance, making it to the Sweet 16.

They were unable to make it past there, as they ran into the No. 1 seed in North Carolina. After that, North Carolina went on to lose to Villanova in the championship game.

All in all, these two teams will be battling for the No. 12 seed in the East region and the winner will face Saint Mary’s (No. 5).

To start off, the Hoosiers come into this game as favorites to win. Indiana may have struggled throughout this year a bit, but they’re record against the spread is very impressive at 19-14.

They faced Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, and Rutgers in their last 5 games, going 2-3 in those games. Their losses were very close games so they shouldn’t be harped on for them. In fact, they didn’t lose a single one of those games by more than 4 points.

Here’s how their last 5 games have went;

Trayce Jackson-Davis is their leading scorer with 18.1 points per game, while adding in 8.2 rebounds as well.

The big man is going to have to lead the charge against Wyoming, who is solid on both ends of the floor. Indiana’s best attribute is defense, so that paired with Jackson-Davis’ scoring will be the biggest reason why they can win this game.

Like I said earlier, Wyoming is a solid team on both ends of the floor. They rank 58th (tied) in offensive rating, pairing that with the 94th (tied) defensive rating.

They are also solid in true shooting percentage (tied for 42nd), turnovers (tied for 47th), and field goal percentage (tied for 104th). All in all, they should be able to hang with Indiana despite being the underdogs.

Their scoring leader is forward Graham Ike who is averaging 19.6 points per game this year. He’s almost averaging a double double with 9.6 rebounds too.

We are going.
We are here.

Time to Dance ?? pic.twitter.com/agauKVLkB5

— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) March 14, 2022

Drake Jeffries is a sharpshooter for them with his 42% three point percentage. Ike and Jeffries will lead the offensive charge, while the rest of the team will look to fill in the rest.

Wyoming was pretty solid themselves ATS at 17-13-2. They also have the better record overall at 25-8.

An upset here wouldn’t be out of the picture and covering the 4 point spread could be a reliable bet here as well.

If you caught my 2022 First Four betting guide, you would know I am a fan of the over for this game. I won’t double up on the same pick and actually pick a team to win this game.

With that being said, I am going to roll with the Hoosiers to cover. They faced a lot of tough teams to close out their season and were able to hang with all of them. Wyoming won’t be a pushover team, but the Hoosiers can get the job done.

In conclusion, taking either team here makes sense because they have had their flaws this season. Whoever can get hot and execute the best will become the ultimate winner of this game and punch their ticket to March Madness.

Finally, head over to the best NCAAB betting sites to place your bets along with me.