Tennessee vs. Iowa State: DFS picks, predictions for Sweet 16 showdown
Published:
Tennessee will face off against Iowa State in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.
The Vols come in as significant underdogs in this matchup despite the injury concerns around Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson, who is dealing with an ankle injury and is considered to be a game-time decision.
Tennessee vs. Iowa State DFS picks
Here are 2 DFS pick ’em predictions via Underdog Fantasy for this matchup:
Felix Okpara, Tennessee: Higher than 7.5 rebounds
Felix Okpara averaged 6.9 rebounds per game during SEC play, so this projection isn’t far off from what he’s been doing in a typical game. I’m counting on an increased minutes load, though, given the stakes of this Sweet 16 affair. Okpara has played 32+ minutes in 7 games this season. He nabbed 8+ rebounds in 6 of those games, including an 8-board performance in 34 minutes in the Round of 32 win over Virginia. I think there’s a good chance we see Okpara’s minutes climb well over 30 in this game, so I’ll take the high side of his rebounds projection.
Attention Tennessee residents: Underdog Fantasy is legal in your state! Here’s SDS’s full Underdog review as well as an Underdog promo code to help you get started!
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State: Higher than 13.5 points
This projection has moved a bit — it was 12.5 earlier in the week when there was more uncertainty about Joshua Jefferson’s status. Jefferson remains a game-time decision as of publication, but I didn’t like what I heard coming out of Iowa State on Thursday. Jefferson said he will not practice prior to tip-off and is just hoping to be able to play through the pain. While that’s admirable, it makes me think there will be more of a scoring load on players like Lipsey. Against Kentucky, Lipsey had 15 field goal attempts, which is tied for his most in a single game since Big 12 play began. He also played 37 minutes, which is a season-high. I think we could see a similar pattern of usage and playing time against the Vols.
Here are the latest odds for this game on Kalshi:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
