Wichita State Shockers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/6/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Wichita State Shockers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Wichita State (+10.5)

The Wichita State Shockers (6-2) head to Fertitta Center on Wednesday where they'll meet the Houston Cougars (8-1). Houston opens this game as 10.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 134.5.

Wichita State will take the court with a win-loss record of 6-2 for the year. They cough up possession 11.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.8 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Wichita State is pulling down 40.9 boards per game and has accumulated 107 dimes for the season, which ranks 196th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Shockers are shooting 32.3% on 3-pointers (62 of 192) and 68.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 74.9 points per game (140th in D-1) while hitting 41.0% from the field. On the defensive end of the court, the Shockers are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 164th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 102 conceded so far this season. The Shockers defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 39.0% (192 of 492) and they concede 40.8 boards per contest as a team. They concede 28.5% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 124th in D-1 in points per game allowed (67.5).

The Wichita State Shockers took the court against the Ole Miss Rebels and walked away with a win by a score of 83-79 in their last contest. Wichita State wrapped up the game with a 52.0% FG percentage (26 of 50) and knocked down 9 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Shockers buried 22 of their 26 shots for a rate of 84.6%. Regarding pulling down boards, they collected a total of 30 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 14 dimes in this matchup while earning 2 steals and 2 rejections. In regard to defense, Wichita State allowed 52.0% from the floor on 26 of 50 shooting. Ole Miss doled out 17 dimes and had 9 steals for this contest. Moreover, the Rebels snagged 26 rebounds (12 offensive, 14 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Ole Miss went 70.0% from the free throw line by burying 14 of 20 tries. They also converted 9 out of their 26 shots from beyond the arc.

Tyson Etienne is someone who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished with 29 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 39 minutes and collected 3 boards. Etienne ended up going 53.3% from the field and also earned 2 assists. Someone else that came through in this matchup for the Shockers was Alterique Gilbert. He collected 3 rebounds and also earned 4 assists. He finished the game at 40.0% from the floor for the matchup by shooting 4-of-10 (14 points). When the final whistle blew, Gilbert saw the court for 32 minutes.

Houston has a record of 8-1 on the campaign. Houston has totaled 663 points on the campaign (73.7 per contest) and they pull in 41.4 boards per game. The Cougars commit 21.6 fouls every game and they go 74.2% from the charity stripe. As an offense, the Cougars are shooting 40.8% from the floor, which is ranked 302nd in the nation. They are earning an assist 11.1 times per game (302nd in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.2 times per game. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 6th in college basketball in points given up per game with 56.3. The Houston defense surrenders 24.5% on 3-point attempts (37 of 151) and their opposition makes 64.2% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 8.8 assists and 32.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 9th and 66th in Division 1. They have forced 16.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 37.8% from the field (21st in the country).

In their last game, the Houston Cougars got the win with a final of 74-60 when they played the SMU Mustangs. The Cougars snagged 26 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards totaling 42 in the matchup. They turned away 4 attempts while recording 8 steals in this contest. The Mustangs were called for 18 fouls in this matchup which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 85.0%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Houston made 7 of their 20 tries (35.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Cougars shot 25 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.1%. The Cougars allowed the Mustangs to knock down 23 out of 57 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.4% for the matchup. They finished 28.6% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 6 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 15 from the free throw line (53.3%). In reference to rebounding, Houston permitted SMU to grab 31 overall (10 offensive).

Marcus Sasser was important for the Cougars in the game. He buried 6 out of 17 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 35.3%, which had him sitting at 17 points. Sasser snagged 2 rebounds in his 31 minutes and accounted for 2 dimes in this contest. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Houston was Dejon Jarreau. He accumulated 15 points in 36 minutes on the court by way of 5 of 10 shooting for this contest. Jarreau wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the field as well as earning 5 assists and 8 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Houston (-10.5) and over 134.5 points

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