Iowa State vs Arizona Prediction 3/1/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Arizona Wildcats and the Iowa State Cyclones meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hilton Coliseum. Here’s an Iowa State vs Arizona prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Iowa State vs Arizona pick.

Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview

The Wildcats have had a couple of spotty runs in the record column so far this year, but overall they’re not doing too badly. Arizona kicked things off on a shaky 4-5 run though, taking losses to Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma, West Virginia and UCLA in that time. The Wildcats would only lose one of their next 14 games though (versus Texas Tech), taking out Samford, Central Michigan, TCU, Cincinnati, West Virginia, UCF, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Iowa State, Arizona State, BYU and Texas Tech in that time. The next four games were an ugly 1-3 run, though. Arizona beat only Baylor in that time, losing otherwise versus Kansas State, Houston and BYU. That would give the Wildcats an 18-9 record across their first 27 games this year.

In their matchup versus Utah on Wednesday, the Wildcats were up 46-32 by halftime and cruised to the win in the end 83-66. Leading the team in scoring was Caleb Love with 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Tobe Awaka doubled up on 12 points with 10 rebounds in the victory as well.

Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview

Over on the Cyclones’ side, they were looking great in late January but February was a completely different story. Iowa State hit a 17-2 run in their first 19 games, taking out MS Valley State, Kansas City, IUPUI, Dayton, Colorado, Marquette, Jackson State, Iowa, Omaha, Morgan State, Colorado, Baylor, Utah, Texas Tech, Kansas, UCF and Arizona State during that run. Since then however it’s been a spotty 4-5 stretch for the Cyclones. The wins in that time were over TCU, UCF, Cincinnati and Colorado. The losses came courtesy of Arizona, Kansas State, Kansas, Houston and Oklahoma State. In total that gives Iowa State a 21-7 overall record across their first 28 games of the season.

In their latest outing on Tuesday versus Oklahoma State, the Cyclones were blitzed 40-26 in the first half. Iowa State recovered on a 42-34 second half run but fell short of the comeback 74-68. Leading the team in the losing effort was Joshua Jefferson with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Nate Heise added 13 points with six boards and one steal, while Curtis Jones led the bench scoring on 11 points with four rebounds and two assists. Milan Momcilovic chipped in 10 points with two rebounds and two assists as well.

Why the Iowa State Cyclones will win

• Iowa State has won each of its last 17 night games at James H. Hilton Coliseum.
• Iowa State has won the first half in each of its last eight night games at James H. Hilton Coliseum.

Why the Arizona Wildcats will win

• Arizona has won 19 of its last 21 games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Arizona has won the first half in each of its last six games against AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Iowa State’s last 10 night games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 151 or fewer points.
• Four of Arizona’s last five games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 149 or fewer points.

Iowa State vs Arizona Prediction

I’m going to take a stab on Iowa State. The Cyclones are sitting on consecutive losses (with fewer than 69 points scored in each) and they really need a good showing in this one. In Tuesday’s matchup against Oklahoma State, Iowa State shot a tepid 41.4 percent from the field and 12-of-20 (60 percent) from the line. The rebounding was solid (a 38-34 advantage) but the Cyclones ruined it with 18 turnovers for 24 Cowboys points.

These teams last saw each other back on January 27 in an 86-75 overtime road loss for the Cyclones. In that one Iowa State didn’t shoot terribly (43.1 percent) and they were comparable on the boards (a 40-39 deficit) but really ran into some ball control issues along the way. Iowa State coughed up 18 turnovers for 22 Wildcats points during a pretty sloppy overall matchup on both sides (33 total turnovers). Arizona’s 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the line helped push the Wildcats over the top as well. This will be the first of two home games against tricky opponents (BYU is coming on Tuesday) for the Cyclones, so they’ve got to get it going and finish the season on a strong run.