Houston Cougars vs Memphis Tigers Prediction, 3/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Memphis Tigers

Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021

Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-9)

The Memphis Tigers (15-6) host the Houston Cougars (20-3) at FedExForum on Sunday. Houston opens this contest as 9-point favorites. The over/under opens at 134.

Houston will take the court with a win-loss record of 20-3 so far this year. They average 77.6 points per game (47th in D-1) while shooting 44.1% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 36.0% on 3-pointers (214 of 595) and 73.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston is pulling in 41.3 rebounds per contest and has racked up 317 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 123rd in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.1 times per contest and as a squad are committing 19.0 fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Cougars have forced 15.3 turnovers per game while drawing 17.3 fouls. They currently rank 60th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 220 relinquished for the season. The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 36.6% (430 of 1,175) and they relinquish 32.2 boards per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 26.9% from beyond the arc while they are 2nd in D-1 in PPG allowed (57.3).

The Houston Cougars faced the USF Bulls and walked away with a win by a score of 98-52 in their last contest. Houston finished the contest with a 60.0% field goal percentage (39 out of 65) and converted 15 of their 33 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Cougars made 5 of 6 tries for a percentage of 83.3%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected 33 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 27 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When discussing defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 36.5% from the field on 19 of 52 shooting. South Florida earned 12 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. In addition, South Florida collected 22 rebounds (7 offensive, 15 defensive) and got 2 rejections. South Florida ended up going 53.8% when shooting free throws by making 7 of their 13 attempts. They also buried 7 of their 18 tries from three-point range.

Quentin Grimes is someone who had an impact in this matchup. He scored 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 20 mins and pulled down 1 board. Grimes ended up going 50.0% from the field and dished out 1 assist. Someone else that was a contributor in this contest for the Cougars was Dejon Jarreau. He pulled down 8 rebounds in his 26 min played. He walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the floor for this game via 6-of-8 (16 points). In all, Jarreau totaled 6 assists.

Memphis has a mark of 15-6 for the season. The Tigers are committing 19.4 fouls per contest while shooting 62.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.2 times per contest (31st in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 16.6 times per game. Memphis has scored 1,522 pts on the season (72.5 per contest) and they grab 40.6 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Tigers are connecting on 43.9% from the field, which is 198th in college basketball. The Tigers on defense are ranked 15th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 62.1. They relinquish 11.0 dimes and 32.7 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 49th and 82nd in college hoops. The Memphis defense gives up 26.7% on shots from beyond the arc (119 of 445) and their opponents are knocking down 67.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 16.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 38.5% from the floor (4th in the country).

When they last stepped on the court, the Memphis Tigers went home victorious with a score of 73-52 against the USF Bulls. The Tigers recorded 31 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 43 for the contest. They also coughed up the ball 19 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. The Bulls were called for 22 fouls for the game which took the Tigers to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to bury 16 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 61.5%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Memphis buried 11 of their 25 tries (44.0%). Overall, the Tigers walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.6%. The Tigers allowed the Bulls to make 16 out of their 50 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 32.0% in the game. They wrapped up this game 16.7% from downtown by connecting on 3 out of 18 and ended up shooting 17 of 25 at the free throw line (68.0%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Memphis permitted South Florida to collect 20 in all (2 on the offensive side).

Boogie Ellis ended up being a major contributor for the Tigers in the matchup. He knocked down 6 of 11 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and tallied 4 rebounds. Ellis totaled 18 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood and added 2 assists in this game. Another guy that was pivotal for Memphis was Deandre Williams. He came away with 3 assists in his 22 mins on the hardwood, and he put in 3 of 9 from the floor. Williams finished going 33.3% from the field and also totaling 13 points and 10 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (-9)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here