The Iowa State Cyclones will face the UAB Blazers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon, and the Cyclones are a big favorite. Given that the ISU finished with the second best record in one of the toughest conferences in the country, I feel pretty comfortable laying the points in this spot.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Previous History - The Cyclones come in riding a five game winning streak, and three of their five opponents during that span are ranked Top 25 in the country. The last time the Blazers played a ranked team they lost to UNC by a score of 89-58.

2. Scoring - Iowa State comes in averaging a whopping 78.4 points per game, and that's more than 10 points more that UAB. They rank 18th overall with a field goal percentage of .480.

3. X-Factor - The Blazers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games, while the Cyclones have covered six straight versus opponents from the C-USA.

Selection: This is a play on the Iowa State Cyclones (8*)