NCAAB: #24 Iowa State vs #20 BYU Odds, and Picks (Jan 16)

• Iowa State went 2-0 last week, including a huge 57-53 win over #2 Houston.
• BYU bounced back from two straight losses on Saturday, beating UCF 63-58.
• These two teams last met on November 20, 2013, in a game Iowa State won 90-88.

The college basketball season is in full swing! Let’s preview the upcoming Iowa State vs BYU ranked bout. Both of these teams are on track to make the tournament, but will seek to bolster their odds with a win.

How to Watch

• ESPN+

Preview

Iowa State had an excellent week, picking up two impressive wins. They handed #2 Houston their first loss of the season on Tuesday and then carried that momentum into a 24-point thumping of Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Cyclones have been getting some impressive play out of Sophomore G Tamin Lipsey, who is averaging 15/5/5 on the season. He’s reached double-digit scoring in 14 of his 16 games thus far.

BYU bounced back from tough losses to Cincinnati and Baylor with a road win over UCF. Now 1-2 in Big-12 play, the Cougars will aim for their first Big-12 win on their home court. Each of their next three games comes against ranked teams, making this a crucial stretch for BYU. They’ll need leading scorer Jaxson Robinson to heat back up, after averaging 7 points per game on 32.5% shooting over his last five games.

Prediction

This should be another exciting and well-fought matchup between two teams in the incredibly deep Big-12 conference. They’ll be fighting to stay in the top-25 and improve their both their standing and potential seeding. The Cyclones have been the hotter team as of late, but will face a difficult task on the road against BYU. I see the home-court advantage being just enough to get the Cougars the victory here.

NCAAB Picks:

• BYU 61, Iowa State 58 ()