Oregon State Beavers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/29/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oregon State Beavers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Monday, March 29, 2021

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Oregon State (+8)

The Oregon State Beavers (20-12) are headed to Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday where they'll take on the Houston Cougars (27-3) in the Elite 8. Houston opens this matchup as 8-point favorites. The total has been set at 130.5.

Oregon State will enter this game with a win-loss record of 20-12 on the season. The Beavers are shooting 35.6% on shots from downtown (224 of 629) and 76.8% from the free throw line. They average 70.8 points per game (190th in the country) while going 43.5% from the field. They lose possession via turnover 11.7 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.8 personal fouls per game. As a team, Oregon State is snagging 34.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 466 dimes this year, which has them ranked 11th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. Defensively, the Beavers have forced 12.3 turnovers per game and they draw 18.4 personal fouls. The Beavers defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 42.6% (743 of 1,744) and they relinquish 33.4 boards per contest as a basketball team. They rank 322nd in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 397 relinquished for the season. They surrender 29.8% from beyond the arc and they rank 99th in college hoops in points per game allowed (67.7).

The Oregon State Beavers faced the Loyola Ramblers and earned the victory with a final of 65-58 in their last contest. Oregon State finished with a 41.2% field goal percentage (21 out of 51) and converted 5 of their 13 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Beavers buried 18 of 20 attempts for a rate of 90.0%. In regard to pulling down boards, they earned 30 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 13 assists for this game in addition to creating 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. With regard to defense, Oregon State allowed their opponent to shoot 33.3% from the field on 18 of 54 shooting. Loyola dished out 14 dimes and had 4 steals for the contest. In addition, Loyola snagged 31 boards (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Loyola shot 70.8% at the free throw line by converting 17 of their 24 tries. They also knocked down 5 out of their 23 shots from long range.

Ethan Thompson is one guy who was a major factor in this game. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He played for 40 mins and snagged 4 rebounds. Thompson finished the contest at 46.2% from the field and also totaled 4 assists. Another guy that was a major factor in this contest for the Beavers was Warith Alatishe. He collected 11 rebounds in his 26 min on the court. He went 50.0% from the floor for the game by shooting 4-of-8 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Alatishe earned 2 assists.

Houston has a mark of 27-3 for the year. The Cougars commit 18.4 fouls per game and they hit 73.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.0 times per contest (117th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.7 times per contest. Houston has accounted for 2,308 pts this season (76.9 per contest) and they pull in 40.9 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Cougars are connecting on 44.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 184th in Division 1. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in college basketball in points given up per game with 57.5. The Houston defense allows 28.0% on shots from beyond the arc (164 of 585) and their opponents are converting on 66.5% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 9.9 assists and 31.6 rebounds every game, which is ranked 14th and 40th in D-1. They are forcing 14.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.0% from the floor (1st in college hoops).

The last time they took the court, the Houston Cougars got the victory with a final of 62-46 when they played the Syracuse Orange. The Cougars earned 22 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 33 for this contest. They also gave up possession 7 times, while getting 8 steals in this game. The Orange were called for 17 fouls for this game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of them for a clip of 64.3%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Houston knocked down 7 of 26 attempts (26.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Cougars finished the game shooting 23 out of 60 from the field which had them shooting 38.3%. The Cougars permitted the Orange to make 14 out of their 50 tries from the floor which left them shooting 28.0% in the game. They finished shooting 21.7% from three-point range via 5 out of 23 and ended up going 13 out of 17 at the charity stripe (76.5%). When talking about rebounding, Houston allowed Syracuse to get 23 in all (4 on the offensive glass).

Quentin Grimes was important for the Cougars for this contest. He converted 5 out of 15 in this game for a rate of 33.3%, and had 4 rebounds. Grimes tallied 14 points in his 32 mins on the court and added 1 assist for this contest. Someone else who was a determining factor for Houston was Justin Gorham. He ended up walking away with 2 dimes in his 28 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 4 of 6 from the floor. Gorham ended the game having shot 66.7% from the floor and also collecting 13 points and 10 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oregon State (+8)

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