UCLA Bruins vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa Hawkeyes (11-2) will try to beat the UCLA Bruins (10-3) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday.

The UCLA Bruins took the court against UC Riverside and walked away with a win by a score of 97-65 in their last game. UCLA wrapped up the game having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (34 out of 68) and knocked down 7 of 21 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bruins buried 22 of their 26 tries for a percentage of 84.6%. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they earned 33 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 assists for the contest while forcing 21 turnovers and getting 12 steals. With respect to defense, UCLA allowed the other team to go 42.6% from the floor on 23 of 54 shooting. UC Riverside recorded 17 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. On top of that, UC Riverside snagged 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UC Riverside ended up going 69.6% at the free throw line by converting 16 of 23 tries. They knocked down 3 of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. In reference to fouls, the Bruins finished with 17 and UC Riverside totaled 24 fouls.

Tyler Bilodeau is a player who was a major factor for this contest. He scored 34 points on 12 out of 19 shooting. He played 30 mins and also pulled down 7 boards. He finished shooting 63.2% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

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UCLA comes into this game with a record of 10-3 so far this season. They are turning it over 10.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.2 fouls per contest. As a unit, UCLA is grabbing 33.1 boards per game and has 215 dimes this season, which has them ranked 116th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Bruins are shooting 39.8% on three-point shots (105 of 264) and 76.2% from the charity stripe. They average 81.7 pts per contest (103rd in college hoops) while shooting 48.9% from the field.

On defense, the Bruins are able to force 14.5 turnovers every game and they draw 19.6 personal fouls. They rank 194th in college hoops in giving up assists with 183 relinquished for the season. The Bruins defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 42.2% (305 of 722) and they relinquish 31.9 boards per game as a squad. They are surrendering 30.9% on 3-point shots and they are 87th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (68.9).

In their last game, the Iowa Hawkeyes walked away with a victory by a final of 90-62 when they played UMass Lowell. The Hawkeyes corralled 20 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 10 steals in this game. UMass Lowell was called for 15 fouls for the matchup which got the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for 24 shots. They were able to bury 22 of the free throws for a clip of 91.7%. Concerning shooting from distance, Iowa converted 4 of their 14 tries (28.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Hawkeyes finished the game shooting 32 out of 55 from the floor which had them sitting at 58.2%. The Hawkeyes allowed UMass Lowell to convert 24 of 50 tries from the field which had them at 48.0% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 38.5% from 3-point land by shooting 5 of 13 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 18 from the free throw line (50.0%). When discussing rebounding, Iowa allowed UMass Lowell to get 24 in all (8 on the offensive glass).

Bennett Stirtz was important for the Hawkeyes in the matchup. He buried 7 of 13 for the game for a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and had 1 rebound. He scored 22 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 8 assists in the matchup.

Iowa has a mark of 11-2 so far this year. As an offensive unit, the Hawkeyes are connecting on 53.3% from the field, which ranks them 3rd in the nation. Iowa has totaled 1,056 points so far this year (81.2 per game) and they average 31.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.5 times per game (51st in the country) and they are giving up possession 9.8 times per game. The Hawkeyes are responsible for committing 18.3 fouls per contest and they hit 74.8% from the free throw line.

The Hawkeyes on the defensive side of the court are 4th in college in PPG surrendered with 60.1. They are forcing 15.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the field (121st in college). The Iowa defense surrenders 30.8% on shots from distance (73 of 237) and opponents are making 67.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 9.5 dimes and 27.7 total rebounds per game, ranking them 8th and 1st in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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