St. John's Red Storm vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 11/24/25

The highly-anticipated Players Era tournament begins on Monday of Feast Week, and there’s no doubt college basketball fans will be treated to some incredible matchups across this tournament and throughout the week. Among Monday’s games is a Big East vs. Big 12 bout between the St. John’s Red Storm and the Iowa State Cyclones at 4:30 PM ET – a matchup KenPom considers the most thrilling of Monday’s loaded hoops slate. The Johnnies sit at 3-1 this season, but they haven’t been tested much outside of a home loss to Alabama in which they surrendered 103 total points and 1.23 points per possession. Meanwhile, Iowa State is undefeated at 4-0 with its most notable win being a very dominant win over Mississippi State on a neutral court in which the Cyclones forced 26 Bulldog turnovers. You read that right, 26. In fact, ISU opponents have committed at least 18 turnovers in every game, though the strength of schedule admittedly hasn’t been the best.

St. John’s is a team that wants to run and get to the rim as much as possible, boasting a top-10 average possession length (KenPom) while taking almost 40% of its shots within 4.5 feet of the hoop – 8% higher than Division 1 average according to CBB Analytics. Typically, this leads to an efficient, high-scoring product, but Iowa State is built in a way that can present problems for St. John’s. T.J. Otzelberger’s Cyclones are notably good at preventing shots at the rim, in addition to being excellent at preventing opponents from getting out in transition. Those have been defensive staples of the Iowa State program for years, and nothing has changed so far this season. ISU surrenders a shot at the rim almost 8% below the national average, and the Cyclones are right up there with the best of them in opposing transition frequency and efficiency. Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell are St. John’s most consistent threats near the rim – each averaging double-digit points and more than 6 rebounds per game – but they are in for a long day against Joshua Jefferson and Blake Buchanan so long as both stay out of foul trouble. It’s also worth mentioning that Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey is one of the better perimeter defenders in the country, ranking 11th out of 2,347 eligible players in steal rate (KenPom) and top 25 in Evan Miya’s defensive rating. That spells trouble for Oziyah Sellers and the rest of the St. John’s backcourt. I’m laying it with the Cyclones. 

St. John’s vs Iowa State prediction: Iowa State -1.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -3. 

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