Vegas Play of the Day: Iowa State at Kansas State

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 | 11:30 a.m.

We’re entering the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

Kansas State minus-4.5 vs. Iowa State: $330 to win $300

Boil this game down to its core elements, and it can be pretty simple for bettors. They can either back the better offensive team on the road or the better defensive team at home.

Give me the better defensive team at home, and partly because Bramlage Coliseum isn’t just any home. It’s the angriest sports venue in the nation, a place where the Wildcats feed off of the venom from their fans.

They’re going to hound the Cyclones all night and more than likely come out with something like a 6-point victory. Iowa State jacks a lot of 3-pointers, which looks great when they’re falling, as they did at Kansas two weekends ago or in a blowout versus Oklahoma on Saturday.

But Kansas State defends the 3-point line better than both of those teams. Kansas State coach Bruce Weber has surely emphasized not giving up open looks on the perimeter after Iowa State hit 11 of 23 3-point attempts in a 70-65 win over it earlier in the season.

The Wildcats outplayed the Cyclones once they figured out how to defend them in that game, winning the second half 39-27, but they fell too far behind early. That won’t happen at home; Kansas State will play like it did late throughout.

Current Standings: Keefer (37-27-2, $10,871), Grimala (5-5, $10,000), Brewer (23-23-1, $8,315), Granger (9-11-1, $7,520)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.