Colorado vs Iowa State Prediction 2/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The Colorado Buffaloes and the Iowa State Cyclones meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Hilton Coliseum. Here’s a Colorado vs Iowa State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Colorado vs Iowa State pick. We will examine: 

The Colorado Buffaloes’ recent form and player performance

The Iowa State Cyclones’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Colorado Buffaloes

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Iowa State Cyclones

Recent betting trends in games played between Colorado and Iowa State

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

Colorado Buffaloes Betting Preview

The Buffaloes were playing well early in the year, but they’ve been on the skids since late December. Colorado hit a 9-2 run in their first 11 games, falling to only Michigan State and Iowa State in that time. A losing streak came next versus Iowa State, Arizona State, UCF, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, TCU, Utah, Houston, and Kansas in succession. The Buffaloes finally stopped the bleeding with a win over UCF in their last game. That gives Colorado a 10-15 overall record through 25 games so far this year. 

In the UCF matchup over the weekend, the Buffaloes were doing okay after the first half on a 38-36 advantage. Colorado kept it up from there on a 38-27 run and took the much-needed victory 76-63 in the end. Leading the charge in the victory was Andrej Jakimovski with 15 points and seven rebounds. Julian Hammond added 11 points with five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks, while Sebastian Rancik had 10 points with seven boards, one assist, and one steal. Tops in scoring off the bench was Javon Ruffin with eight points in 17 minutes. 

Iowa State Cyclones Betting Preview

Over on the Cyclones’ side, they had a pretty rough run going in January/February, but overall they’ve done quite well this year. Iowa State won 15 of their first 16 games over MS Valley State, Kansas City, IUPUI, Dayton, Colorado, Marquette, Jackson State, Iowa, Omaha, Morgan State, Colorado, Baylor, Utah, Texas Tech, and Kansas. The next six games were a 2-4 run though, with wins over UCF and Arizona State amid losses to West Virginia, Arizona, Kansas State, and Kansas. Since then it’s been three straight wins over TCU, UCF, and Cincinnati, though. That gives the Cyclones a 20-5 overall record through 25 games this year so far. 

Matched up against Cincinnati on Saturday, the Cyclones hit a 39-39 run in the first half. Iowa State managed a 42-31 run the rest of the way though, pulling out the home win 81-70 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Curtis Jones, who came off the bench for 22 points and six rebounds with a nice 12-of-12 from the line. Joshua Jefferson added 13 points with seven boards and three steals as the top starter, and Milan Momcilovic put up 12 points with two rebounds in 29 minutes of action. 

Why the Iowa State Cyclones will win

• Iowa State has won each of its last 12 night games at James H. Hilton Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Colorado has lost 14 of its last 15 games against Conference opponents.
• Colorado has lost the first half in each of its last seven games against AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Colorado’s last seven games has produced a total of 141 or fewer points.
• Five of Iowa State’s last six night games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 142+ points.

Colorado vs Iowa State Prediction 

I’m going to stay with the Cyclones, even though it’s a pretty hefty line. Iowa State started a bit slowly in their latest win over a decent Cincinnati team. In that one, the Cyclones ended up shooting 49 percent from the field with a dominant 37-19 edge on the boards. That said, it was a sloppy game overall with Iowa State accounting for 18 of the game’s 32 total turnovers for 13 Bearcats points. Still, that makes three straight wins for the Cyclones with 77 or more points in each. 

These teams have seen each other twice already this year in a pair of Iowa State wins: once on a neutral court 99-71 on November 27 and once on the road 79-69 on December 30. The Cyclones should be able to dominate on their home floor here in game three.