Memphis Tigers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/13/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Memphis Tigers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, March 13, 2021

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Memphis (+7.5)

The Memphis Tigers (16-7) head to Dickies Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the Houston Cougars (22-3). Houston opens this contest as 7.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 132.5.

Memphis comes into this game with a win-loss record of 16-7 this year. The Tigers are shooting 35.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (172 of 487) and 62.4% from the free throw line. They have an average of 72.0 points per game (159th in college hoops) while shooting 43.9% from the floor. They turn it over 16.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 19.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Memphis is collecting 40.3 boards per game and has accounted for 375 dimes this year, which ranks 63rd in the country in terms of passing. On defense, the Tigers are forcing 16.3 turnovers per game and they draw 17.5 personal fouls. The Tigers are allowing a shooting percentage of 38.3% (493 of 1,287) and they surrender 33.0 boards per game as a unit. They rank 90th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 255 conceded for the year. They are giving up 26.9% from 3-point land and they are ranked 17th in college hoops in points per game allowed (62.3).

The Memphis Tigers took the court against the UCF Knights and walked away with a win by a score of 70-62 in their last contest. Memphis wrapped up the game with a 39.3% FG percentage (24 out of 61) and buried 6 out of their 20 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Tigers made 16 of 21 shots for a percentage of 76.2%. When it comes to getting rebounds, they compiled 42 with 11 of them being offensive. They also distributed 20 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When discussing the defense, Memphis let their opponent shoot 35.7% from the field on 20 of 56 shooting. UCF recorded 14 dimes and had 8 steals in this contest. On top of that, UCF snagged 33 rebounds (10 offensive, 23 defensive) and got 8 blocks. UCF finished the game at 62.5% at the charity stripe by converting 15 of 24 tries. They also buried 7 out of their 25 attempts from downtown.

Deandre Williams is one player who had an impact in this game. He walked away with 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He played 33 minutes played and collected 4 boards. Williams finished shooting 55.6% from the field and totaled 5 dimes. Someone else that had an impact in this matchup for the Tigers was Boogie Ellis. He grabbed 1 rebound in his 31 min played on the night. He finished the contest at 33.3% from the floor for the matchup via 4-of-12 (12 points). When the time ran out, Ellis earned 3 assists.

Houston has a win-loss mark of 22-3 for the season. Houston has 1,929 pts this year (77.2 per contest) and they snag 41.4 boards per contest. The Cougars commit 18.8 fouls per contest and they shoot 73.3% from the free throw line. As an offensive unit, the Cougars are hitting on 43.9% from the field, which is ranked 194th in the country. They are assisting teammates 13.9 times per contest (122nd in the country) and they are giving up possession 10.9 times per game. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in college basketball in PPG allowed with 57.4. They concede 10.0 assists and 32.0 rebounds every game, which ranks them 17th and 52nd in college basketball. The Houston defense surrenders 27.3% on 3-point shots (131 of 480) and their opposition knocks down 66.4% of their foul shots. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 37.0% from the floor (1st in Division 1).

In their last game, the Houston Cougars went home victorious with a score of 77-52 against the Tulane Green Wave. The Cougars were able to pull down 30 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 42 in the matchup. They also turned the ball over 7 times, while recording 3 steals for the matchup. The Green Wave were called for 12 fouls for this game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 15 tries. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a percentage of 73.3%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Houston buried 12 of their 31 tries (38.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 27 for 58 from the field which had them sitting at 46.6%. The Cougars allowed the Green Wave to make 20 out of their 54 attempts from the field which had them shooting 37.0% in this contest. They shot 23.5% from 3-point land by shooting 4 out of 17 and ended up shooting 8 out of 18 from the free throw line (44.4%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, Houston allowed Tulane to get 24 in all (7 offensive).

Dejon Jarreau was important for the Cougars in this contest. He buried 5 of 10 in the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and tallied 10 rebounds. Jarreau earned 15 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 10 dimes for this contest. One more player that ended up playing a role for Houston was Quentin Grimes. He ended up finishing with 1 assist in his 32 mins on the court, and he shot 4 of 12 from the floor. Grimes wrapped this one up going 33.3% from the field while collecting 15 points and 4 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Memphis (+7.5)

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