East Carolina Pirates vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/22/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 22, 2022

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN2

Fertitta Center is the location where the Houston Cougars (16-2) will go up against the East Carolina Pirates (11-6) on Saturday.

The East Carolina Pirates stepped onto the hardwood against UCF and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 92-85 in their last game. East Carolina finished having earned a 53.3% field goal percentage (32 out of 60) and converted 9 out of their 23 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Pirates buried 12 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 31 with 5 of them being offensive. They also dished out 20 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In relation to defending, East Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 49.2% from the field on 31 out of 63 shooting. UCF dished out 23 dimes and had 12 steals for the contest. On top of that, UCF collected 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. UCF shot 60.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 25 shots. They made 15 out of their 30 shots from distance. Regarding fouls, the Pirates left the arena with 23 while UCF totaled 12 fouls.

Tristen Newton is a player who had an impact in this matchup. He finished shooting 52.6% from the field and also earned 3 dimes. He saw the court for 39 minutes and also snagged 5 rebounds. He totaled 27 points on 10 of 19 shooting.

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East Carolina comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 11-6 for the year. They are turning it over 13.4 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, East Carolina is grabbing 35.6 boards per game and has 283 assists for the season, which ranks 34th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Pirates are connecting on 37.6% on shots from downtown (141 of 375) and 75.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 74.2 pts per contest (127th in college basketball) while hitting 44.2% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Pirates are able to force 13.2 turnovers every game while drawing 17.7 fouls. They are conceding 34.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 265th in the country in points per game from their opponents (71.8). The Pirates defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.5% (438 of 1,008) and they relinquish 34.5 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are ranked 340th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 272 surrendered for the season.

When they last played, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 74-55 when they faced South Florida. The Cougars were able to collect 25 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for the contest. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. South Florida was called for 17 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to convert 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 61.1%. In reference to shooting from beyond the arc, Houston made 9 out of their 25 tries (36.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Cougars ended up shooting 27 out of 60 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.0%. The Cougars allowed South Florida to convert 20 out of their 57 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 35.1% for the contest. They finished the game shooting 31.8% from distance by shooting 7 of 22 and ended up shooting 8 of 12 from the free throw line (66.7%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Houston permitted South Florida to snag 35 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Kyler Edwards ended up being a factor for the Cougars for the matchup. He totaled 23 points in his 35 mins of playing time and earned 4 assists for this contest. He made 6 out of 14 in this matchup giving him a rate of 42.9%, and accounted for 7 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 16-2 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 46.8% from the floor, which is 60th in the nation. Houston has accumulated 1,397 points so far this year (77.6 per game) and they collect 39.2 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 15.6 times per contest (56th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.8 times per game. The Cougars have committed 16.8 fouls per contest while shooting 66.5% from the free throw line.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 7th in college basketball in points given up per game with 57.8. They are forcing 16.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 37.4% from the field (8th in D-1). The Houston defense gives up 30.0% on shots from distance (127 of 424) and their opposition knocks down 70.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 10.8 assists and 32.2 boards per contest, ranking them 66th and 73rd in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston

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