St. John's vs. Iowa State Picks and Prediction, Monday, November 24th, 2025
Use Code WWWC The #14 St. John's Red Storm (3-1) and the #16 Iowa State Cyclones (4-0) will meet in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon in this St. John's vs. Iowa State prediction. This is a multi-team event involving 18 teams, with each team playing two scheduled games, and the top four teams advancing to play in the championship round. St. John's is coming off an easy home win over Bucknell 97-49, covering the 28.5-point spread in the process. Iowa State similarly rolled Stonehill 96-57, but did not cover the massive 40.5-point spread. Tipoff is set for 4:30 EST and can be found on TruTV. Keep reading for our St. John's vs. Iowa State prediction, and check out all of our winning NCAAB Betting Picks!
St. John's Looks to Storm the Tournament
The St. John's Red Storm have reloaded their roster yet again under head coach Rick Pitino, and look as if they have one of the top rosters in the Big East, if not the entire nation. The Johnnies do have one loss already this season, but losing a shootout to #15 Alabama is not a loss that will haunt the Red Storm throughout the season. Their other three games were against lesser opponents, clearing each by at least 30 points in victories. In their most recent game, Ian Jackson led the way with 20 points in the win over Bucknell.
Jackson is a high-profile transfer who came over from North Carolina, where he was an All-Freshman pick in the ACC by averaging 11.6 PPG. He is putting up stronger numbers this season, with 14.5 PPG, which is even more impressive when you see he has only averaged 18.5 minutes per game. Jackson has been used as a spark off the bench, but is still seen as a pro prospect as NBADraft.net has him being selected in the second round. Zuby Ejiofor is also projected as a second-rounder. The strong 6'9, 245-pound senior is getting 15.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG to start the year. Their top scorer is Bryce Hopkins, the 6'7 senior has an inside-out game and is scoring 15.5 points a night after transferring from Providence.
St. John's is ranked 16th overall out of 365 Division I teams according to KenPom. They are 22nd in offensive efficiency and 14th in defensive efficiency. They play extremely fast, ranking 9th in the country in pace of play.
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Cyclones Test Perfect Record
The Iowa State Cyclones have a 4-0 record on the season, with their best win coming against Mississippi State out of the SEC when the Cyclones took home a 16-point win. Their other three wins came against mid-major teams, as the Cyclones are preparing for their Big 12 season to challenge Houston, Texas Tech and Kansas for the crown in the conference. In their last game, Iowa Star got 23 points from Tamin Lipsey in the win over Stonehill.
Lipsey is their 6'1 senior guard who has been a starter on the team since day one on campus as a freshman. In the world on the transfer portal, Lipsey has been a strong presence for the Cyclones, and is averaging 19.0 PPG and 5.3 APG this season as their starting point guard. Joshua Jefferson is their best post player. He began his career with St. Mary's, but has been a starter for the Cyclones over the past two seasons, and is getting 18.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG as a 6'9, 240-pound senior forward. Milan Momcilovic is their third scorer; he is a 6'8 junior getting 15.3 PPG as a forward who can score inside and out.
Iowa State is ranked 11th overall according to KenPom. They are 24th in offensive efficiency and 6th in defensive efficiency. The Cyclones play much slower than the Red Storm, ranking 125th in pace of play.
St. John's vs. Iowa State Picks and Predictions
Spread pick for St. John's vs. Iowa State
- Iowa State -1.5 (5 units)
This is a big non-conference battle in Las Vegas, and I will give the edge to the veteran team that has been together longer. St. John's has talent, but Pitino is trying to put it all together as he goes with Jackson coming off the bench and Hopkins leading the way after missing all of last season. The best NBA player in this game is likely Jackson, and he is only playing 18 minutes a game off the St. John's bench. These are confusing new roles for the Johnnie's, while Iowa State has Lipsey, Jefferson and Momcilovic back for a second year as double-digit scorers.
Take Iowa State to win and cover.
Over/Under Pick for St. John's vs. Iowa State
- Over (4 units)
These offenses are healthy and hungry to make their presence known in the college hoops landscape. This game will be a fast-paced battle, with plenty of double-digit scorers on the perimeter who want to play at a fast pace. The only true post player who will be an impact player is Ejiofor, and he led the nation in offensive rebounds last season with 4.4 per game. Ejiofor is not a defensive presence; he just contributes to offense. St. John's plays at the 9th fastest pace in all of college basketball; they will push the tempo here in a game that will go well above the number.
Take the over.
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