Pitt March Madness Odds: First Round NCAA Tournament

The first round of the NCAA tournament features the Pittsburgh Panthers, seeded 11th in the Midwest Region, facing the Iowa State Cyclones, seeded sixth. Pittsburgh plays at 3:10 p.m. ET on Friday, March 17 in Greensboro, N.C., with coverage on truTV. Current odds for this college basketball showdown have Pittsburgh as spread underdogs and moneyline underdogs, with an over/under of . Here, we’ll take a look at this game as part of a wider snapshot of Pitt March Madness odds.

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Pittsburgh vs. Iowa State Betting Odds

Below, bettors can find the best available Pittsburgh March Madness odds across legal U.S. sportsbooks. Use the dropdown in the top left to change from spread betting options to moneyline or wagers on the over/under.

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Pittsburgh Vs. Iowa State Player Props

Player prop odds for Pittsburgh vs. Iowa State will populate below once they become available, usually a day or so before tip-off. You will often find a wider spread of prices on small markets like player props, so it’s very important to shop for the best numbers. You can also use our prop finder tool and type in a player’s name.

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Pittsburgh March Madness Futures

Why Pittsburgh Can Cover The Spread

They have the type of offense that can catch fire in any one-game scenario. Where Iowa State ranks 110th in offensive efficiency, Pittsburgh checks in at 25th. Sure, Pittsburgh seems unlikely to make a deep run based on their defensive deficiencies, but this offense is good enough — so long as they avoid turnovers — to topple Iowa State. Keep an eye on the free-throw line as a bellwether for Pitt. Iowa State ranks among the worst teams in free throws allowed and attempted, so if Pitt can win the battle of easy points they’ll be in this one.

Why Iowa State Can Cover The Spread

Iowa State was the far strong team according to the analytics sites, checking in around the top 30 while Pitt was lucky to make the tournament. Particularly against quality opposition, one can see the stark difference between these two. Pitt was largely a “take care of business” type of team, beating the dregs of their schedule and logging just two wins against tournament foes. Meanwhile, Iowa State excelled, with eight wins against the cream of the crop including high seeds like Kansas, Baylor and Texas. KenPom’s numbers have this line as too short.

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Final Thoughts

Iowa State’s ability to beat quality opponents — and Pittsburgh’s lack thereof — bodes quite well for the Cyclones here. Between their far superior defense and that strength of record, it appears Pitt will need quite a bit of shooting variance to tilt in its favor in order to win this one. Expect an Iowa State win, and if you are optimistic about them, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to look their way in Final Four odds as well — they’ve shown they can compete with the best.