Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: CBS

The Baylor Bears (9-3) are on their way to Hilton Coliseum on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Iowa State Cyclones (11-1).

The Baylor Bears faced off with Utah and went home with a win by a final score of 81-56 in their last game. Baylor finished with a 40.6% field goal percentage (28 out of 69) and converted 9 out of their 32 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Bears buried 16 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 44 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 13 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and having 11 steals. When talking about defending, Baylor allowed 31.8% from the field on 21 of 66 shooting. Utah recorded 17 dimes and had 8 steals for this game. Moreover, Utah snagged 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Utah finished 53.8% at the charity stripe by making 7 of their 13 attempts. They made 7 out of their 30 shots from distance. In reference to personal fouls, the Bears walked away with 18 while Utah had 17 personal fouls.

V.J. Edgecombe is one guy who came through in this matchup. He ended up scoring 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He played 25 minutes and grabbed 5 rebounds. He ended up going 60.0% from the floor and recorded 1 assist.

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Baylor steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 9-3 this year. They are turning it over 11.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.4 fouls per contest. As a team, Baylor is grabbing 38.9 boards per game and has totaled 216 dimes this year, which is 95th in college in terms of passing the rock. The Bears are hitting 37.9% on three-point attempts (120 of 317) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. They average 86.4 points per game (16th in college hoops) while going 48.4% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bears are forcing their opponents into 15.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.3 fouls. They are giving up 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 111th in college in points per game from their opponents (68.5). The Bears defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.8% (286 of 669) and they surrender 31.5 boards per game as a team. They are 206th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 178 surrendered for the year.

In their last game, the Iowa State Cyclones took home the win by a final score of 79-69 when they faced Colorado. The Cyclones were able to corral 18 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this contest. They turned it over 9 times, while recording 13 steals for this game. Colorado committed 18 fouls in this matchup which got the Cyclones to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 77.3%. With respect to shots from distance, Iowa State converted 4 of their 18 tries (22.2%). When all was said and done, the Cyclones walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 68 from the field which had them at 42.6%. The Cyclones permitted Colorado to make 28 out of 57 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1% in this contest. They went 31.8% from downtown via 7 of 22 and finished the game at 6 out of 8 at the free throw line (75.0%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, Iowa State allowed Colorado to snag 28 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Curtis Jones ended up being a major contributor for the Cyclones in this contest. He earned 20 points in his 29 mins on the hardwood, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He converted 5 of 16 for this game for a field goal percentage of 31.3%, and had 3 rebounds.

Iowa State has a win-loss mark of 11-1 for the campaign. The Cyclones commit 14.4 personal fouls per contest and they go 75.9% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 17.4 times per contest (33rd in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.5 times per contest. Iowa State has accounted for 1,052 pts for the season (87.7 per game) and they collect 36.8 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Cyclones are hitting on 50.5% from the field, which ranks them 15th in college.

The Cyclones are ranked 60th in D-1 in PPG given up with 65.8. They have forced 16.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (127th in college hoops). The Iowa State defense gives up 32.6% on 3-pointers (88 of 270) and opponents are making 75.7% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 13.2 assists and 30.3 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 196th and 21st in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Baylor

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