Texas basketball vs. Iowa State: Prediction and odds college basketball
Up next for No. 7 Texas basketball and acting head coach Rodney Terry is a really tough road contest against head coach TJ Otzelberger and the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones. Texas will be looking to extend its winning streak to four games if it can pull off the upset of the Cyclones in Ames on Jan. 17.
This might come as one of the toughest tests of the regular season for the Longhorns, though. Iowa State is undefeated in eight contests at home this season, including three wins over major conference teams.
Moreover, Texas comes into this game with a record of 15-2 (4-1 Big 12) following a tight 72-70 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders and head coach Mark Adams at home at the Moody Center in Austin on Jan. 14. The triumph over Texas Tech gives Texas three wins in a row and nine in the last 10 games.
Meanwhile, Iowa State comes into this game with a record of 13-3 (4-1 Big 12) after a close 62-60 loss at the hands of the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks on the road at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence on Jan. 14. The loss to Kansas snapped a six-game winning streak for the Cyclones.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as Texas gets set to face Iowa State on the road at Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Jan. 17, with the tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Texas basketball vs. Iowa State: Betting odds for Jan. 17
Texas is a 2.5-point underdog against Iowa State less than an hour ahead of tip-off and the over/under is set at 133.5 (per FanDuel).
The moneyline narrowly favors Iowa State (-150) over Texas (+122)
According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index, Texas has a 43.0 percent chance of beating Iowa State.
Texas vs. Iowa State prediction
This game has the makings of the toughest contest in Big 12 play to date for the Longhorns. While the matchups against the Kansas State Wildcats and No. 17 TCU Horned Frogs at the Moody Center earlier this month were difficult, that won’t quite compare to the environment Texas is about to play in.
And the Iowa State faithful are going to be really pumped up to make this night tough on the Longhorns, specifically on sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter. The former Iowa State transfer will be returning to Ames for the first time since he joined the Longhorns last offseason.
Hunter is going through a slump recently. In fact, if you take out his 29-point outburst against Kansas State on Jan. 3, Hunter hasn’t scored more than 10 points in a game since the Dec. 1 win at home over the Creighton Blue Jays.
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The combination of the home-court advantage and Iowa State’s insanely disruptive defense (Cyclones lead the nation in opponent turnover percentage this season) will make it tough for the Longhorns to overcome this challenge in the end.