Houston Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 2/16/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Monday, February 16, 2026

Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: ESPN

The Iowa State Cyclones (21-3) will play the Houston Cougars (22-2) at Hilton Coliseum on Monday.

The Houston Cougars played Utah and earned the victory with a final of 66-52 in their last contest. Houston ended the contest with a 43.3% FG percentage (26 of 60) and converted 9 out of their 26 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Cougars buried 5 of their 10 tries for a percentage of 50.0%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 29 with 11 of them being offensive. They also recorded 8 assists for the game while creating 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing the defense, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 44.4% from the field on 20 out of 45 shooting. Utah earned 13 assists and had 4 steals in the game. Moreover, Utah totaled 23 rebounds (3 offensive, 20 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Utah ended up shooting 71.4% when shooting free throws by burying 10 of their 14 attempts. They also made 2 out of their 17 tries from distance. When it comes to personal fouls, the Cougars ended up with 15 and Utah recorded 9 personal fouls.

Emanuel Sharp is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up shooting 52.9% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 31 mins played and also collected 3 boards. He accounted for 27 points on 9 out of 17 shooting.

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Houston will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 22-2 on the campaign. They have an average of 78.3 points per game (132nd in Division 1) while hitting 45.5% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (213 of 625) and 77.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is pulling in 36.8 boards per contest and has racked up 366 dimes for the season, which ranks 146th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 8.0 times per game and as a team they commit 18.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Cougars have forced 14.6 turnovers every game while drawing 15.8 fouls. They currently rank 20th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 264 conceded on the year. The Cougars defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.5% (488 of 1,235) and they relinquish 33.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 31.1% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 2nd in Division 1 in opponents PPG (61.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Iowa State Cyclones took a defeat with a final score of 62-55 when they played TCU. In regard to cleaning up the glass, Iowa State permitted TCU to get 35 in total (9 offensive). They went 27.8% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 18 and ended up shooting 15 of 23 from the charity stripe (65.2%). The Cyclones permitted TCU to make 21 of 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.4% for the contest. When this game wrapped up, the Cyclones ended up going 24 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.4%. In regard to shots from distance, Iowa State buried 5 of their 22 attempts (22.7%). They were able to make 2 of those for a percentage of 25.0%. TCU earned 13 fouls in this game which got the Cyclones to the free throw line for a total of 8 attempts. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 8 steals for the contest. The Cyclones were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this contest.

Joshua Jefferson ended up having an impact for the Cyclones for the game. He buried 5 of 15 in this matchup giving him a rate of 33.3%, and had 9 rebounds. He earned 12 points in his 38 mins of playing time and accounted for 9 assists for the game.

Iowa State has a record of 21-3 this year. As an offense, the Cyclones are shooting 50.9% from the floor, which ranks 12th in the country. Iowa State has earned 2,031 pts for the campaign (84.6 per contest) and they collect 36.7 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 18.5 times per contest (13th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.0 times per game. The Cyclones have committed 15.5 fouls per game while shooting 67.7% from the free throw line.

The Cyclones defensively are ranked 15th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 64.9. They are forcing 15.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.8% from the floor (67th in the country). The Iowa State defense concedes 31.7% on 3-pointers (180 of 568) and their opponents are converting on 70.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 12.8 assists and 29.9 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 125th and 11th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iowa State

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