Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 12/14/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Sunday, December 14, 2025

Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa State Cyclones (9-0) will try to beat the Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-6) at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against Eastern Kentucky and took a loss by a final of 68-59 in their last contest. Eastern Illinois walked away from the contest with a 39.6% field goal percentage (21 out of 53) and converted 5 out of their 15 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 12 of 14 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. In the matter of rebounding, they earned a total of 25 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 14 assists for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When discussing defense, Eastern Illinois let their opponent shoot 42.1% from the field on 24 out of 57 shooting. Eastern Kentucky earned 17 dimes and had 4 steals for the contest. On top of that, Eastern Kentucky snagged 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Eastern Kentucky shot 92.3% from the charity stripe by converting 12 of their 13 attempts. They also converted 8 of 32 tries from beyond the arc. In relation to fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 13 while Eastern Kentucky recorded 13 fouls.

Zion Fruster is one guy who was a major factor for this game. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played 29 minutes and also snagged 5 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 41.7% from the field and totaled 3 dimes.

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Eastern Illinois comes into this matchup with a mark of 2-6 so far this year. They turn it over 13.8 times per contest and as a squad they commit 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Eastern Illinois is collecting 29.6 boards per contest and has tallied 88 dimes for the season, which is 359th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Panthers are shooting 27.6% on shots from distance (37 of 134) and 73.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 62.1 pts per contest (358th in college hoops) while connecting on 41.0% from the field.

On defense, the Panthers have forced 12.0 turnovers every game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 149th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 122 conceded this year. The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.7% (224 of 470) and they relinquish 37.9 boards per contest as a squad. They give up 31.8% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 271st in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (77.8).

The last time they took the court, the Iowa State Cyclones walked away with a victory by a final of 66-62 against Iowa. When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Iowa State permitted Iowa to grab 27 overall (7 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 46.7% from distance by going 7 out of 15 and ended up going 3 out of 5 from the free throw line (60.0%). The Cyclones allowed Iowa to knock down 26 out of their 51 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 51.0% for the contest. When all was said and done, the Cyclones finished the game shooting 22 for 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.3%. When it comes to shots from beyond the arc, Iowa State made 5 of 15 attempts (33.3%). They were able to bury 17 of those for a rate of 73.9%. Iowa earned 19 personal fouls for this game which got the Cyclones to the charity stripe for a total of 23 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 11 steals in this game. The Cyclones snagged 17 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 24 for this contest.

Joshua Jefferson ended up being a major contributor for the Cyclones for the game. He made 7 of 14 in this matchup for a rate of 50.0%, and tallied 5 rebounds. He earned 24 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the game.

Iowa State has a win-loss mark of 9-0 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cyclones are hitting on 54.9% from the field, which ranks 1st in Division 1. Iowa State has accumulated 851 points this season (94.6 per game) and they average 35.9 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 19.2 times per contest (16th in D-1) and they are turning it over 10.1 times per contest. The Cyclones are responsible for committing 16.7 personal fouls per contest and they go 69.4% from the charity stripe.

The Cyclones on defense are ranked 20th in college in points given up per game with 64.6. They are forcing 19.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.9% from the floor (119th in college). The Iowa State defense gives up 33.0% on shots from beyond the arc (68 of 206) and their opposition makes 65.5% of their foul shots. They concede 14.0 dimes and 30.4 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 226th and 35th in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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