Iowa State Cyclones vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa State Cyclones vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Peacock

The Cincinnati Bearcats (9-8) are hosting the Iowa State Cyclones (16-1) at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday.

The Iowa State Cyclones took the court against Kansas and ended up losing by a score of 84-63 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Cyclones finished with 13 and Kansas recorded 9 fouls. They buried 12 of their 24 attempts from 3-point range. Kansas finished the game shooting 83.3% at the charity stripe by converting 10 of their 12 tries. Additionally, Kansas pulled down 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't have a block. Kansas distributed 17 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. Concerning the defense, Iowa State allowed the other team to go 50.8% from the field on 31 of 61 shooting. They also distributed 11 assists in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 31 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Cyclones buried 6 of their 11 tries for a rate of 54.5%. Iowa State ended with a 36.9% FG percentage (24 out of 65) and made 9 of their 27 shots from downtown.

Jamarion Batemon is one player who was a major factor for the matchup. He was able to score 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He played 19 minutes played and also totaled 1 rebound. He finished the contest at 55.6% from the floor and also earned 1 assist.

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Iowa State heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 16-1 for the season. They average 86.5 points per game (31st in college hoops) while hitting 51.0% from the field. The Cyclones are shooting 40.3% on three-point shots (151 of 375) and 68.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Iowa State is snagging 37.0 boards per game and has accounted for 311 dimes this season, which has them ranked 30th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 10.5 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.6 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Cyclones are able to force 16.6 turnovers per game and they draw 16.4 personal fouls. They are 113th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 217 surrendered for the campaign. The Cyclones are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.0% (394 of 938) and they concede 30.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are conceding 32.2% from 3-point land and they are ranked 12th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (64.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats got the victory with a final of 77-68 when they faced Colorado. When talking about how they attacked the glass, Cincinnati permitted Colorado to get 27 overall (7 on the offensive glass). They shot 35.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 of 20 and finished the game at 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). The Bearcats allowed Colorado to convert 25 of their 56 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.6% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Bearcats walked away from this one shooting 25 out of 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.6%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Cincinnati converted 3 of 16 attempts (18.8%). They were able to make 24 of those for a percentage of 68.6%. Colorado was called for 24 fouls for the contest which took the Bearcats to the charity stripe for a total of 35 tries. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 9 steals for this game. The Bearcats collected 23 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 28 for the game.

Moustapha Thiam ended up being important for the Bearcats in this game. He earned 24 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood, but wasn't able to tally an assist. He buried 10 of 15 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and tallied 5 rebounds.

Cincinnati has a win-loss record of 9-8 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Bearcats are hitting on 42.7% from the floor, which is ranked 301st in college. Cincinnati has tallied 1,254 pts on the year (73.8 per game) and they pull in 37.9 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 17.4 times per contest (40th in the country) and they cough up possession 12.4 times per game. The Bearcats have committed 16.4 fouls per contest and they go 64.2% from the charity stripe.

The Cincinnati defense surrenders 31.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (129 of 405) and opponents are connecting on 70.2% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 13.2 assists and 34.8 boards every game, ranking them 178th and 201st in D-1. The Bearcats are ranked 25th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 65.9. They are able to force 14.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 40.9% from the field (55th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati

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