Iowa State vs Nebraska-Omaha Prediction 12-15-24 College Basketball Picks

The Omaha Mavericks and the Iowa State Cyclones meet Sunday in college basketball action from Hilton Coliseum. Here’s an Iowa State vs Nebraska-Omaha Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Iowa State vs Omaha pick.

Omaha Mavericks Betting Preview

This year the Mavericks got off to a rough 2-5 start this year with losses to Minnesota, UNLV, Southern Utah, Alabama State and Akron. A 2-2 run followed with wins over Lamar and Sac State around losses to Abilene Christian and Montana State.

In their Friday matchup with Northern Iowa, the Mavericks were looking at an 11-point deficit by the break. Omaha was outscored 44-35 from there and lost 78-58. Leading the way in the losing effort was Lance Waddles with 14 points and seven boards off the bench.

Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview

Over on the Cyclones’ side, they’ve got just one blemish—a two-point loss to Auburn—on the card so far. Otherwise Iowa State has beaten MS Valley State, UMKC, IUPUI, Dayton, Colorado, Marquette, Jackson State and Iowa.

Matched up against the Hawkeyes on Thursday, the Cyclones were in trouble with a 44-37 deficit at the break. Iowa State came back on a 52-36 run and took the win 89-80, though. Curtis Jones came off the bench for 23 points and six rebounds to lead the way.

Why the Iowa State Cyclones will win

• Iowa State has won each of its last 32 games against non-Conference opponents at James H. Hilton Coliseum.
• Omaha has lost eight of its last 10 games.
• Iowa State has won the first half in each of its last 32 games against non-Conference opponents at James H. Hilton Coliseum.

Why the Omaha Mavericks will win

• Omaha has won the first half in three of its last four day games against non-Conference opponents.

Iowa State vs Omaha Prediction

I’ll lean toward Iowa State here, but the line’s too thick to mess with. The Cyclones passed their latest test on the road versus Iowa quite well despite a slow start. Iowa State ended up shooting 44.3 percent from the field with a firm 46-34 rebounding edge (18-8 offensive) in the nine-point win. This year the Cyclones are scoring at an excellent clip, with 81 or more points in all nine games so far.

As for Omaha, on Friday they shot pretty poorly (36.8 percent) and coughed up 13 turnovers for 15 Northern Iowa points. The Mavs have been very flat scoring-wise lately with fewer than 60 points in four of their last five games (a 1-4 run). It’s going to be tough keeping any kind of pace on Sunday.