The No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones (7-1) will aim for their fifth consecutive victory when they face the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-2) in a rivalry clash on Thursday night. Iowa State's lone loss came in an 83-81 final against Auburn in the Maui Invitational, but it has responded with a four-game winning streak. Iowa is hoping to bounce back from an 85-83 loss at Michigan on Saturday as it faces a ranked opponent for the first time this season. The Hawkeyes hold a 48-29 lead in the all-time series, but Iowa State cruised to a 90-65 win last year.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa State is favored by 5.5 points in the latest Iowa vs. Iowa State odds, while the over/under is 161.5 points per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Iowa State vs. Iowa picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 6 of the 2024-25 season on a 174-125 betting roll (+2196) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Iowa State vs. Iowa. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- Iowa vs. Iowa State spread: Iowa State -5.5
- Iowa vs. Iowa State over/under: 161.5 points
- Iowa vs. Iowa State money line: Iowa State: -239, Iowa: +196
- Iowa vs. Iowa State picks: See picks here
- Iowa vs. Iowa State streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Iowa can cover
Iowa trailed Michigan by double figures in both halves, but it rallied multiple times in that 85-83 setback. Payton Sandfort missed his first five 3-pointers before drilling a game-tying triple with 20 seconds remaining. He scored 16 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, while four of his teammates finished in double figures.
Sophomore forward Owen Freeman is averaging a team-high 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while Sandfort is adding 16.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. Iowa is riding a seven-game home winning streak and has covered the spread in five of its last six home games against Iowa State. See which team to pick here.
Why Iowa State can cover
Iowa State has only lost one game this season and six of its seven wins have come by double figures. The Cyclones are riding a four-game winning streak that includes an 81-70 win over Marquette last Wednesday. They added a 100-58 win over Jackson State on Sunday, covering the spread as 35.5-point favorites.
Curtis Jones scored a team-best 19 points, shooting 5 of 10 from 3-point range and 6 of 12 overall. Iowa is shooting just 66% from the free-throw stripe this season after going 10 of 17 against Michigan. The Cyclones have covered the spread in five of their last six games and have won 11 consecutive games in December. See which team to pick here.
How to make Iowa State vs. Iowa picks
The model has simulated Iowa vs. Iowa State 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Iowa State vs. Iowa, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Iowa vs. Iowa State spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 174-125 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
