Iowa State vs Cincinnati Prediction 2/15/25 College Basketball Picks Today

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

Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Preview

The Bearcats had a very rough run going back in January. Aside from that however, Cincinnati has been quite the consistent team in the record column and they’re having a good year. During their 10-1 opening run, the Bearcats fell to only Villanova, taking out Arkansas Pine Bluff, Morehead State, Nicholls State, Northern Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Alabama State, Howard, Xavier, Dayton and Grambling otherwise during that time. Cincinnati hit the skids on a 2-8 run from there, beating only Colorado and Arizona State. Otherwise it was losses to Kansas State, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU, Utah and West Virginia during that time. The Bearcats have gotten back on track with wins over their last three games, though. Those victories have come in succession versus UCF, BYU and Utah. In total that gives the Bearcats a 15-9 overall record through their first 24 games of the year so far.

In the Utah matchup on Tuesday, the Bearcats hit a 42-36 opening run in the first half. Cincinnati closed with a 43-39 stretch from there in an eventual win 85-75 in the end. The Bearcats’ leading scorer was Jizzle James with his 25 points, six assists and two rebounds. Aziz Bandaogo managed to double up with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Josh Reed led the bench scorers with 13 points and four rebounds, while Simas Lukosius chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 27 minutes of work on the floor.

Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview

Over on the Iowa State side, they suffered a three-game losing streak that stretched into the early part of this month. Other than that however, the Cyclones have been pretty dominant overall. Iowa State’s lone loss during a 15-1 start was versus Auburn on November 25. Otherwise it was wins over MS Valley State, Kansas City, IUPUI, Dayton, Colorado, Marquette, Jackson State, Iowa, Omaha, Morgan State, Colorado, Baylor, Utah, Texas Tech and Kansas in succession during that time. A spotty 2-4 run came next with a pair of wins over UCF and Arizona State among losses to West Virginia, Arizona, Kansas State and Kansas. Since then Iowa State has gotten back on track with consecutive wins over TCU and UCF, giving the Cyclones a 19-5 overall record so far through the first 24 games of the season.

Matched up against UCF on Tuesday in their latest outing, the Cyclones held a modest two-point advantage after the first half. Iowa State hit a 45-35 run in the second half however, eventually powering out a 77-65 win in the end. Tops in scoring was Keshon Gilbert with 15 points, seven boards, four assists and one steal. Joshua Jefferson added 13 points with eight boards and four assists alongside one steal and one block. Curtis Jones paced the team off the bench, providing 10 points with six rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes of work.

Why the Iowa State Cyclones will win

• Cincinnati has lost each of its last 17 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Iowa State has won 30 of its last 31 games at James H. Hilton Coliseum.
• Iowa State has won the first half in 26 of its last 27 day games at James H. Hilton Coliseum.

Why the Cincinnati Bearcats will win

• The road team has won each of the last three games between Cincinnati and Iowa State.
• Cincinnati has won the first half in each of its last four games against AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Cincinnati’s last seven games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 129 or fewer points.
• Fifteen of Iowa State’s last 18 games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 137+ points.

Iowa State vs Cincinnati Prediction

I’ll stick with Iowa State. The Cyclones started modestly in their latest road win over UCF but ended up looking pretty good in the end. Iowa State hit 45.8 percent from the field in that one alongside a 41-32 rebounding advantage. The 11 turnovers for 10 UCF points were just about the only blemish to complain about. Following a pair of losses with just 113 combined points (to Kansas State and Kansas), the Cyclones have now scored 159 combined points in a pair of wins during their last two outings.

As for Cincinnati, they’ve scored 84 or more points in three straight games (all wins). The Bearcats will have their hands full in a tough road matchup Saturday however, and I don’t think they’ll quite get there.