Iowa vs UCLA Prediction
Iowa vs UCLA Game Information
| What: | Iowa vs UCLA Prediction 1/17/2025 College Basketball Picks |
| When: | Friday, January 17, 2025 at 9:00 EST/6:00 PST |
| Where | Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California |
| Iowa vs UCLA Line: | UCLA -6.5 |
| Total: | 154.5 |
| TV: | FS1 |
Iowa vs UCLA Preview
Iowa (9-8, 3-3 in Big Ten) heads to Westwood to face UCLA (11-6, 2-4 in Big Ten) on Friday night for their first meeting with both schools in the Big Ten Conference. In their last 5 games, the Hawkeyes were 3-2, beating New Hampshire by 42 (112-70), losing at Wisconsin by 31 (116-85), beating Nebraska by 10 in OT (97-87), topping Indiana by 25 (85-60), before losing to USC by 10 in LA on Tuesday (99-89). In their last 5 games, the struggling Bruins are 1-4, beating Gonzaga by 3 (65-62), and then losing 4 straight to Nebraska by 8 (66-58), Michigan by 19 (94-75), Maryland by 18 (79-61), and Rutgers by 7 (75-68). Online sportsbook DraftKings currently has Iowa at 250/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament with UCLA priced at 75/1 longshot odds.
Iowa Looks to Rebound in LA After Loss to USC
Iowa (9-8-0 ATS, 11-6-0 O/U) went 10-10 in the Big Ten last year (19-15 overall) and was 4-9 on the Road but now with Washington, Oregon, USC, and this UCLA side all merging into the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes (+210 Moneyline) may find Wins harder to come by, especially on the Road with the long Travel for these four new West Coast teams. Iowa is led by F Owen Freeman (17.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG), F Payton Sandfort (17.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.4 APG), G Josh Dix (14.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.8 APG), F Pryce Sandfort (9.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG), G Brock Harding (9.6 PPG, 6.2 APG), G Drew Thelwell (10.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.2 APG), and F Seydou Traore (5.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG). The Hawkeyes (31.1 RPG, #361) come in averaging a healthy 89.5 PPG (Tied-#1) while allowing 78.0 ppg (+11.5 ppg Point Differential) and are great with the dishes, ranking No. 4 in the nation with 19.8 APG.
Iowa Betting Trends
- Iowa is 6-4 SU/ATS in its last 10 games
- The Hawkeyes are 5-2-0 ATS in their last 7 overall
- Iowa is 0-3 SU on the Road vs the Big Ten Conference (1-2-0 ATS)
- The Over is 8-2-0 in the Hawkeyes last 10 games
- Iowa is tied for #1 in DI in Points Per Game (89.5)
Can UCLA End 4-Game Big Ten Losing Skid vs Iowa?
UCLA (9-8-0 ATS, 6-11-0 O/U) is known for playing good Defense and slowing the pace of a game, and against the high-scoring and fast-paced Hawkeyes, the Bruins (-260 Moneyline) will have to do all it can to milk the clock and find a way to get a “W” and end its current 4-game Losing Streak. After knocking off then-No. 14 Gonzaga as the No. 22 ranked team to improve to 11-2, UCLA has proceeded to lose 4 straight—three of them on the Road—and fall back to earth. The Bruins are still winless so start 2025 and are led by Tyler Bilodeau (14.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG), G Eric Dailey Jr. (11.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG), G Sebastian Mack (10.1 PPG), electric G Kobe Johnson (8.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.2 APG), G Dylan Andrews (6.7 PPG, 2.4 APG), G Skyy Clark (6.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.6 APG), G Lazar Stefanovic (6.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG), G Trent Perry (4.5 PPG), and C Aday Mara (4.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG). UCLA has been a heavy Under team (11-6) and allows 63.4 PPG and score 74.6 PPG (#210) but expect that Scoring Defense average to go up against the top-scoring side in Division I.
UCLA Betting Trends
- UCLA is 5-5-0 SU in its last 10 games overall
- The Over is 3-0-0 in the Bruins last 3 games
- UCLA is 0-4-0 SU/ATS in its last 4 games (NEB, MICH, MD, RUT)
- The Bruins are 1-5 SU in their last 5 games overall
- UCLA has won 3 of its last 5 outright when Underdogs (ORE, AZ, GONZ)
Iowa vs UCLA Prediction
These two don’t have a large body of work playing with UCLA just joining the Big Ten this season. One big question here is can Iowa win on the Road out West and the oddsmakers are sort of telling us, “No way.” In their Loss on Tuesday at USC, the Trojans led the whole game and were up by 16 at Halftime (48-32). USC shot the lights out, connecting on 64.9% from the Field and 66.7% from behind the 3-Point Arc. Iowa didn’t shoot bad at all—53.3% from Field and 45.8% from 3-Point territory—but were badly outrebounded (37-20) by the hosts. In their last 2 Road games, Iowa has lost by 31 (116-85) and 10 (99-89). With UCLA involved in 3 straight Overs, the Over 8-2 in the last 10 Hawkeyes games and Iowa coming off a game in Lalaland where both teams were on fire and 188 points scored and this Total at 154.5, this Iowa vs UCLA NCAAB pick will side with the Over in Westwood.