Iowa State vs Iowa Game Information

Iowa State vs Iowa Preview

No. 3 Iowa State (7-1, 0-0 on Road) heads to Iowa City on Thursday night to face rivals Iowa (7-2, 6-0 at Home) in a Big 12-Big Ten Conference showdown. The Cyclones come in winners of 4 straight, beating Dayton by 5 (89-84), Colorado by 28 (99-71), Marquette by 11 (81-70), and Jacksonville State by 42 (100-58) in their last game. Iowa State’s last loss was to Auburn (83-81) on November 25. The Hawkeyes are 3-2 in their last 5, beating Rider by 25 (83-58), losing to Utah State by 8 (77-69), defeating South Carolina Upstate by 33 (110-77), beating Northwestern in their Big Ten Conference season opener at Home by 1 on a last-second 3-point Hail Mary (80-79), and then losing at Michigan by 2 (85-83). The latest Ken Pomeroy ratings have Iowa State ranked at No. 6 with Iowa at No. 46.

Iowa State Facing Tough Test vs Rivals on Thursday

Iowa State (4-4-0 ATS, 4-4-0 O/U) is ranked No. 3 in the nation now behind two SEC schools, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn, and with an athletic group of returning players like G Keshon Gilbert (17.4 ppg, 5.5 apg), G Curtis Jones (16.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg), F Milan Momcilovic (12.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg), C Dishon Jackson (11.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg), F Joshua Jefferson (10.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg), and G Tamin Lipsey (8.6 ppg, 3.9 apg), Head Coach TJ Otzelberger has an incredible nucleus there in Ames. Iowa State is averaging a healthy 87.8 ppg (#8) while allowing just 64.8 ppg and are No. 28 in the nation in Assists Per Game (17.4). The Transfer Portal was good to the Cyclones with Jefferson (St. Mary’s), Jackson (Charlotte), Nate Heise (Northern Iowa), and Brandton Chatfield (Seattle) all helping to provide depth and try to get Iowa State back to the Big Dance in the spring.

Iowa State Betting Trends

• The Cyclones are 8-2 SU in their last games 10 overall
• ISU’s L3 losses: Kansas St (Big 12 Tourney), Houston (NCAA Tourney), Auburn
• The Cyclones are 25-12-0 ATS in their last 37 games
• The Over is 4-1 in the Cyclones last 5 after 4 straight Unders
• Iowa State was the 7th best ATS team last season (25-11-1, 69.4%)
• The Cyclones are 3-0-0 ATS in their last 3 games overall

Will Iowa be an Unranked Home Favorite Here?

Iowa (4-5-0 ATS, 5-4-0 O/U) has nine guys who get a lot of minutes in F Owen Freeman (16.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg), F Payton Sandfort (16.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 apg), G Josh Dix (13.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg), F Pruce Sandfort (10.0 ppg), G Brock Harding (9.4 ppg, 6.0 apg), G Drew Thelwell (8.1 ppg, 3.1 apg), F Seydou Traore (6.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg), F Cooper Koch (4.0 ppg), and F Ladji Dembele (3.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg). The Hawkeyes (34.2 rpg, Tied-#299) come in averaging 86.1 ppg (Tied-#18) while allowing 73.3 ppg and are great with the dish, ranking No. 10 in the nation with 19.3 apg. Popular online sportsbook DraftKings has Iowa priced at 150/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Championship with Iowa State currently at 18/1.

Iowa Betting Trends

• Iowa is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games dating back to last season
• The Hawkeyes have alternated ATS Wins/Losses the last 5 (WLWLW)
• Iowa is a perfect 6-0 at Home this season
• The Hawkeyes are 4-0-0 ATS in the last 4 Home series meetings
• Iowa has been the odds Favorite in 8 of the last 9 games

Iowa State vs Iowa Prediction

These two teams have split the last 10 meetings with the Home team winning SU 8 times and losing just 2 times (both 4-1 SU at Home) with the Over holding a 6-4-0 edge in the Totals market. But Iowa has been the team to bet on with the Hawkeyes holding a 6-3-1 ATS record over that span (2014 to 2023) and getting the butter in the last 4 meetings in Iowa City and 4 of the last 6 overall. The big question here is will we have an Unranked Home Favorite (UHF) in Iowa? (Nope.) We will see on Wednesday afternoon when the numbers are released, but if so, this Iowa vs Iowa State NCAAB pick will be to back the Hawkeyes because of three things: 1—Being unbeaten at Home so far; 2—Being an Unranked Home Favorite (they aren’t); and 3—The 4-0-0 ATS record vs Iowa State in the last 4 meetings. Iowa State might be a better team, but in College Hoops, Site, Situation, and emotions always play a big part in the outcome. Let’s take the points.

Kevin’s Pick: Iowa +5.5