Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: ESPNU

Dickies Arena is where the Houston Cougars (9-2) will take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3) on Saturday.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys played Cleveland State and walked away with a win by a score of 98-93 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Cowboys walked away with 17 and Cleveland State totaled 22 fouls. They converted 9 out of their 24 attempts from distance. Cleveland State finished shooting 63.6% from the charity stripe by burying 14 of 22 shots. On top of that, Cleveland State pulled down 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Cleveland State totaled 23 assists and had 12 steals for the contest. When it comes to defending, Oklahoma State let their opponent shoot 50.7% from the floor on 35 out of 69 shooting. They also distributed 16 assists for the game in addition to forcing 17 turnovers and getting 10 steals. With regard to pulling down boards, they earned 34 with 12 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cowboys converted 17 of their 26 tries for a rate of 65.4%. Oklahoma State finished having earned a 53.7% FG percentage (36 out of 67) and converted 9 of their 25 3-pointers.

Avery Anderson is one guy who was a factor in this game. He recorded 29 points on 11 out of 15 shooting. He played for 35 minutes and also grabbed 4 boards. He finished 73.3% from the floor and distributed 3 assists.

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Oklahoma State heads into this one with a record of 7-3 on the season. They turn the ball over 16.4 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Oklahoma State is collecting 38.8 boards per game and has tallied 146 dimes on the year, which is 137th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cowboys are hitting 29.7% on three-point attempts (55 of 185) and 65.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.3 pts per contest (96th in the country) while hitting 46.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Cowboys are forcing their opponents into 19.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They are giving up 31.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 125th in college hoops in points per game allowed (65.9). The Cowboys defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.9% (225 of 578) and they concede 35.5 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 69th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 105 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Houston Cougars got the victory with a final of 71-56 when they played Louisiana. The Cougars snagged 24 defensive boards and 20 offensive rebounds for a total of 44 in this contest. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while earning 8 steals in this contest. Louisiana earned 21 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throw tries for a clip of 77.3%. When discussing shooting from distance, Houston converted 2 of 21 attempts (9.5%). When all was said and done, the Cougars finished the game shooting 26 out of 67 from the field which had them shooting 38.8%. The Cougars permitted Louisiana to convert 19 of their 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3% in this game. They finished 35.7% from beyond the arc by hitting 10 out of 28 and ended up shooting 8 out of 12 at the charity stripe (66.7%). In reference to how they attacked the glass, Houston allowed Louisiana to pull down 35 in all (12 on the offensive side).

Taze Moore was important for the Cougars in this contest. He totaled 14 points in his 36 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes in this matchup. He converted 5 out of 12 for this game giving him a rate of 41.7%, and totaled 10 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 9-2 so far this season. As an offense, the Cougars are hitting on 47.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 46th in the nation. Houston has earned 880 pts this season (80.0 per game) and they grab 40.1 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 15.7 times per game (56th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 10.5 times per contest. The Cougars commit 17.1 personal fouls every game and they go 66.0% from the free throw line.

The Cougars defensively are ranked 9th in college hoops in PPG given up with 56.4. They are forcing their opponents into 17.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 36.9% from the floor (12th in D-1). The Houston defense surrenders 29.2% on 3-point shots (79 of 271) and their opponents are making 69.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 10.3 assists and 31.4 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 50th and 52nd in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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