Iowa State vs West Virginia Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The Iowa State Cyclones and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet Saturday in college basketball action from WVU Coliseum. Here’s an Iowa State vs West Virginia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Iowa State vs West Virginia pick. We will examine:

The Iowa State Cyclones’ recent form and player performance

The West Virginia Mountaineers’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Iowa State Cyclones

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the West Virginia Mountaineers

Recent betting trends in games played between Iowa State and West Virginia

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Iowa State vs West Virginia game

Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview

Iowa State has been one of the best teams in the nation for most of the 2024-25 campaign. They’ve got just one blemish on the schedule so far, with a lengthy winning streak in tow. The Cyclones took out Mississippi Valley State, Kansas City, and IUPUI in their first three games this year before their first (and so far only) loss to Auburn on November 25. Since then it’s been a 12-game win streak over Dayton, Colorado, Marquette, Jackson State, Iowa, Omaha, Morgan State, Colorado, Baylor, Utah, Texas Tech, and Kansas in succession, giving the Cyclones a nice 15-1 overall record through their first 16 outings of the season.

In the Kansas game on Wednesday, Iowa State didn’t have too many issues. The Cyclones emerged from halftime with a 10-point lead 40-30, then cruised from there on a 34-27 advantage for a 74-57 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Curtis Jones with 25 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Joshua Jefferson added 10 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Dishon Jackson came off the bench to post 17 points with four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Tamin Lipsey chipped in 10 points with three steals as well.

West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview

Over on the West Virginia side, they’ve been pretty darn successful this year in their own right, and haven’t posted consecutive losses yet. The Mountaineers went 4-2 in their first six outings, losing to only Pittsburgh and Louisville among wins over Robert Morris, UMass, Iona, and Gonzaga. A win streak ensued after that, as West Virginia dispatched Arizona, Georgetown, NC Central, Bethune-Cookman, Mercyhurst, Kansas, and Oklahoma State in succession. Since then it’s been a rocky 1-2 stretch, though. The lone win in that time came versus Colorado, sandwiched between losses to Arizona and Houston for a 12-4 overall record this season.

Matched up against Houston in their Wednesday game, the Mountaineers entered the second half clutching a 40-27 deficit. West Virginia didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 30-27 run from there and took the loss 70-54. Leading scorer Amani Hansberry came off the bench to contribute 16 points with one rebound in 19 minutes of work. Javon Small led the starters with his 13 points, eight assists, one steal, and one block in 38 minutes on the floor.

Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win

• West Virginia has won each of its last eight games against Iowa State at WVU Coliseum.
• Iowa State has lost nine of its last 10 games at WVU Coliseum.
• Iowa State has lost the first half in each of its last four games at WVU Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Iowa State Cyclones will win

• Iowa State has won each of its last 12 games.
• West Virginia has lost 10 of its last 12 games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.
• West Virginia has lost the first half in seven of its last eight day games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.

Iowa State vs West Virginia Prediction

I’ll probably just stick with Iowa State. The Cyclones are rolling right now and can’t seem to do much wrong. Iowa State shot a tepid 40.7 percent from the field in their latest loss to Kansas alongside 13 turnovers. That said, the Cyclones also had a 43-33 rebounding edge and kept the Jayhawks tamped down on 40.7 percent shooting themselves. Iowa State has been drilling the scoreboards all year; they’ve got 74 or more points in all 16 outings so far.

As for West Virginia, they’re coming off a tough road matchup versus Houston and haven’t been scoring so well lately with fewer than 57 points in two of the last three games (both losses). The Mountaineers are really going to have to turn it up on offense in order to keep pace here, and I’m not sure they’ve got the gas to do it.