Iowa State vs. Lipscomb: 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview & Predictions

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 16, 2025

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first-round 2025 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our NCAA Tournament previews and predictions for Iowa State vs. Lipscomb.

2025 NCAA Tournament Preview & Predictions: Iowa State vs. Lipscomb

Here are the odds for this opening-round matchup of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Let’s dive into our preview and predictions for this first-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

Iowa State 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

Iowa State started the year 15-1, with its only loss coming to a dominant Auburn squad after a second-half collapse, and it looked as if the Cyclones could be among the favorites for a Big 12 Conference title. Now, it feels more like they are limping into the tournament.

Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey both sat out against BYU in the Big 12 tourney, and their guard play is needed to open up Curtis Jones' play and let this team cook. But this squad can lean more on its defense to potentially get through the early-round games.

Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger has led the Cyclones to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and this year's squad is once again anchored by a top-10 defense that forces turnovers and limits opponents to just 29.5% shooting from midrange. The Cyclones’ interior defense may need a little more production in March, but they allow the fourth-fewest shot attempts to opponents near the hoop, keeping almost everything outside. This truly is the definition of “good offense is good defense,” with the points they get off turnovers a significant part of their offense.

The Cyclones can be solid from deep with Jones and Milan Momcilovic, but they need more consistency from their shooters to make a deep run. The key for the Cyclones is health. If Lipsey and Gilbert were sitting out mostly for precautionary reasons, — or if the Cyclones can get to the second weekend without them — this is a championship-caliber team. But without them, Iowa State is on upset watch, susceptible to any solid perimeter-shooting team that can show up defensively.

Lipscomb 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

Lipscomb comes out of the ASUN led by coach Lennie Acuff who has put together the best offense under his six-year tenure. The Bisons benefit from Jacob Ognacevic, who can score anywhere on the court with a 63% 2-pt shooting and 41% 3-pt shooting and ranks 19th in the nation in true scoring percentage. Will Pruitt is also a featured forward with one of the best free-throw rates in conference play and is capable of getting hot from deep, one of the nation’s best shooters and steady point guard Joe Anderson, who is an excellent facilitator and defender.

With this talented core supplemented by experienced role players like Grant Asman, Gyasi Powell, and Charlie Williams, Lipscomb boasts a solid starting core. This team has the firepower to make noise in the tournament, but they can’t have a cold night and expect to win. They won’t generate many second-chance looks and their free throw rate ranks outside the top 220 in DI ball. They live and die by the three, going undefeated when shooting 40% or higher, and 7-9 (not counting DII games) when failing to reach that benchmark.

The Bisons won’t give up anything for free and had a tough non-con schedule that should prep them for the tourney. They did get crushed by Arkansas and Kentucky – the only two tourney teams they played all year – but no time like the present to turn it around.

Check out all of our 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket & Betting Coverage >>

2025 NCAA Tournament Game Previews

March Madness is officially here! The 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let's take a look at the early odds, previews, and predictions for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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