Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/14/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2021

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (+13)

The Houston Cougars (22-3) host the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-10) at Dickies Arena on Sunday. Cincinnati opens this contest as 13-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 138.

Cincinnati will play this contest with a record of 11-10 on the year. The Bearcats are hitting 31.6% on three-point shots (150 of 474) and 65.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 70.0 points per contest (210th in college hoops) while hitting 43.2% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 14.7 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.6 fouls per contest. As a team, Cincinnati is pulling in 36.0 boards per game and has 319 assists on the year, which has them ranked 161st in D-1 in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Bearcats have forced 13.6 turnovers every game while drawing 17.7 fouls. The Bearcats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.2% (509 of 1,179) and they surrender 34.4 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 133rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 280 relinquished on the season. They give up 32.4% on three-point shots and they rank 222nd in college hoops in opponents points per game (71.9).

The Cincinnati Bearcats faced off with the SMU Mustangs and went home with a win by a final score of 74-71 in their last game. Cincinnati wrapped up the contest with a 44.2% FG percentage (23 out of 52) and converted 8 out of their 18 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Bearcats knocked down 20 of their 31 shots for a rate of 64.5%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they collected 37 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 19 dimes in this contest while forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and earning 11 steals. Regarding defense, Cincinnati let their opponent shoot 35.9% from the floor on 23 out of 64 shooting. SMU recorded 11 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. Furthurmore, SMU grabbed 36 boards (16 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 4 rejections. SMU went 62.5% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of 24 attempts. They also made 10 of their 30 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Jeremiah Davenport is a guy who was a contributor for the contest. He accumulated 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 33 mins played and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Davenport finished the game shooting 60.0% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. Someone else that was a contributor in the matchup for the Bearcats was Keith Williams. He had 3 rebounds in his 35 min on the hardwood. He finished the contest at 27.3% from the field in the matchup by going 3-of-11 (14 points). When the game finished, Williams earned 6 assists.

Houston has a record of 22-3 so far this season. When it comes to offense, the Cougars are connecting on 43.9% from the floor, which is 194th in the nation. Houston has totaled 1,929 points this year (77.2 per contest) and they pull in 41.4 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.9 times per game (122nd in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest. The Cougars are committing 18.8 fouls per game and they hit 73.3% from the free throw line. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 57.4. They have conceded 10.0 dimes and 32.0 boards every game, which is 17th and 52nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Houston defense allows 27.3% on three-point shots (131 of 480) and opponents are connecting on 66.4% of their foul shots. They are able to force 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.0% from the floor (1st in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the court, the Houston Cougars got the win with a final of 77-52 when they faced the Tulane Green Wave. The Cougars corralled 30 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 42 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while earning 3 steals for the matchup. The Green Wave had 12 fouls in the game which took the Cougars to the free throw line for 15 shots. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 73.3%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Houston made 12 of 31 tries (38.7%). Overall, the Cougars ended up going 27 out of 58 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.6%. The Cougars allowed the Green Wave to bury 20 of 54 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 37.0% for the contest. They finished 23.5% from distance by shooting 4 out of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 18 at the free throw line (44.4%). In relation to rebounding, Houston permitted Tulane to pull down 24 in total (7 offensive).

Dejon Jarreau was important for the Cougars for this game. He buried 5 of 10 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 10 rebounds. Jarreau had 15 points in his 34 mins of playing time and had 10 assists for the game. An additional guy who was a determining factor for Houston was Quentin Grimes. He ended up walking away with 1 assist in his 32 mins played, and he knocked down 4 out of 12 from the floor. Grimes walked away from this one going 33.3% from the field while also earning 15 points and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati (+13)

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