UCF Knights vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 1/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa State Cyclones (15-2) will try to defeat the UCF Knights (12-5) at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday.

The UCF Knights played Houston and ended up losing by a score of 69-68 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Knights ended up walking away with 14 and Houston totaled 20 personal fouls. They also knocked down 3 of 16 attempts from beyond the arc. Houston shot 72.7% at the free throw line by making 8 of 11 shots. Additionally, Houston collected 38 rebounds (16 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Houston earned 8 assists and had 3 steals for this game. When discussing defense, UCF allowed the other team to go 42.0% from the floor on 29 of 69 shooting. They also dished out 11 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 1 steal. In terms of grabbing boards, they collected 35 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Knights made 11 of 17 attempts for a rate of 64.7%. UCF finished with a 40.3% FG percentage (25 out of 62) and made 7 of their 23 three-point shots.

Moustapha Thiam is a guy who came through for the matchup. He accounted for 18 points on 7 out of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 34 minutes and pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 70.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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UCF will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 12-5 on the campaign. They are turning it over 12.5 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, UCF is collecting 37.6 rebounds per contest and has racked up 249 dimes on the year, which ranks 208th in the country in terms of passing. The Knights are shooting 33.6% on three-point attempts (144 of 428) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 78.9 points per outing (84th in college) while connecting on 42.2% from the floor.

Defensively, the Knights have forced 14.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.2 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.0% on three-point shots and they are ranked 312th in D-1 in opponents PPG (77.4). The Knights defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 44.2% (476 of 1,078) and they surrender 37.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 203rd in college hoops in allowing assists with 246 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Iowa State Cyclones took a loss by a score of 64-57 when they faced West Virginia. The Cyclones were able to corral 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 37 in this contest. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 4 steals for the matchup. West Virginia had 13 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cyclones to the free throw line for a total of 7 attempts. They were able to make 6 of them for a rate of 85.7%. In reference to 3-point shots, Iowa State knocked down 1 of 17 attempts (5.9%). When the game finished, the Cyclones finished the game shooting 25 for 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.9%. The Cyclones allowed West Virginia to make 22 of their 56 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.3% in the matchup. They went 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 9 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 14 at the free throw line (78.6%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Iowa State allowed West Virginia to snag 27 in total (5 offensive).

Curtis Jones ended up being a factor for the Cyclones in this matchup. He totaled 18 points in his 36 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He made 8 out of 16 for the game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and tallied 8 rebounds.

Iowa State has a win-loss mark of 15-2 so far this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Cyclones are connecting on 49.2% from the floor, which is 19th in Division 1. Iowa State has 1,424 pts for the year (83.8 per contest) and they pull down 37.4 boards per game. They are earning an assist 16.0 times per game (72nd in college) and they turn it over 10.4 times per game. The Cyclones are committing 14.8 fouls per game and they go 75.0% from the charity stripe.

The Cyclones defensively are ranked 35th in college in PPG given up with 65.2. They are forcing 15.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.6% from the floor (53rd in college). The Iowa State defense concedes 32.0% from downtown (125 of 391) and their opposition makes 73.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 13.4 assists and 31.5 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 211th and 36th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF

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