Iowa State Cyclones (26-7) vs. Houston Cougars (30-3)
March 16, 2024 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Houston Cougars -4.5; Over/Under:
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The Iowa State Cyclones and the Houston Cougars meet Saturday in Big 12 Tournament college basketball action from T-Mobile Center. Let’s get into our Iowa State vs Houston prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones have remained consistent this year, only losing consecutive games once early on. Iowa State would finish off their regular season with four wins over West Virginia, Oklahoma, UCF and BYU before a loss to Kansas State. In the Thursday tournament matchup, the Cyclones got their revenge against the Wildcats.
On Friday in tourney activity against Baylor, the Cyclones held a 35-27 edge by halftime. Iowa State posted a 41-35 advantage the rest of the way and won it 76-62 in the end. Keshon Gilbert was the leading scorer on 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
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Houston Cougars
Over on the Cougars’ side, they started out the year on a nice 14-0 run, then took consecutive losses to Iowa State and TCU. After another five-game win streak and a loss to Kansas, Houston finished off on a nine-game win streak to finish off the regular season. Thursday’s tournament matchup was a victory over TCU.
In the Friday tournament game versus Texas Tech, the Cougars kept their win streak going. Houston came out of the break with a slim 32-29 lead, then hit a 50-30 second half for a dominant victory 82-59. Lead scorer LJ Cryer put up 20 points with two rebounds in the winning effort.
ANDREW’S FREE IOWA STATE VS HOUSTON PREDICTION
I’m likely going to lean toward the Cougars. Houston is hot right now and coming off a nice all-around effort versus a good Texas Tech squad. The Cougars hit 49.2 percent from the field in that one alongside 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the line, 30 rebounds and just eight turnovers. In five of the last six games, Houston has held the opposition to fewer than 60 points.
When these squads last met up on February 19, Houston secured a 73-65 win at home. The Cougars didn’t shoot spectacularly (42 percent) and got out-rebounded 39-30. That said, Houston scored 20 points off 16 Iowa State turnovers. This rematch likely won’t feature so many mistakes from the Cyclones, but I still think Houston dictates the pace.
