Houston Cougars vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 2/9/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Location: Moody Coliseum in University Park, TX

TV: ESPN2

The SMU Mustangs (16-5) will play the Houston Cougars (20-2) at Moody Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Houston Cougars faced Cincinnati and notched a win by a score of 80-58 in their last game. Houston ended the contest with a 53.3% field goal percentage (32 out of 60) and converted 8 of 21 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cougars buried 8 of their 11 attempts for a percentage of 72.7%. With respect to getting rebounds, they compiled 37 with 8 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In reference to defense, Houston allowed their opponent to shoot 34.0% from the floor on 18 out of 53 shooting. Cincinnati doled out 8 dimes and had 6 steals for the contest. On top of that, Cincinnati grabbed 24 boards (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Cincinnati finished 75.0% when shooting free throws by converting 18 of their 24 tries. They also knocked down 4 of their 20 shots from 3-point land. In the matter of fouls, the Cougars finished with 20 while Cincinnati racked up 12 fouls.

Fabian White is a player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He ended up going 61.5% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. He played 32 minutes and also snagged 9 boards. He recorded 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

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Houston steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 20-2 so far this season. They are averaging 76.9 points per game (53rd in Division 1) while shooting 46.7% from the field. The Cougars are hitting 35.0% on shots from downtown (185 of 529) and 66.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Houston is pulling down 39.8 boards per game and has totaled 350 assists on the year, which has them ranked 51st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.9 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 17.1 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Cougars are able to force 15.3 turnovers per game and they draw 17.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 27.8% on three-point shots and they rank 3rd in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (56.6). The Cougars defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 36.0% (418 of 1,161) and they surrender 32.2 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 41st in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 225 relinquished on the year.

In their last game, the SMU Mustangs went home defeated by a final of 72-57 against Wichita State. When talking about how they attacked the glass, SMU permitted Wichita State to grab 34 overall (9 offensive). They finished 38.1% from three-point range by connecting on 8 of 21 and finished the contest at 18 of 20 at the free throw line (90.0%). The Mustangs allowed Wichita State to knock down 23 of 56 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.1% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Mustangs shot 19 for 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.5%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, SMU made 5 of their 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Wichita State earned 16 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Mustangs to the free throw line for a total of 21 shots. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while earning 6 steals for the contest. The Mustangs were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 30 for this contest.

Marcus Weathers ended up having an impact for the Mustangs in this contest. He converted 5 out of 11 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and had 8 rebounds. He totaled 14 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the matchup.

SMU has a mark of 16-5 on the season. The Mustangs commit 15.4 personal fouls per contest and they go 74.6% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.9 times per game (138th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.0 times per game. SMU has scored 1,578 points on the season (75.1 per contest) and they pull in 38.5 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Mustangs are hitting on 45.1% from the floor, which ranks 124th in the country.

The Mustangs are ranked 128th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 67.1. They are able to force 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.7% from the field (32nd in D-1). The SMU defense allows 30.8% on shots from beyond the arc (140 of 455) and opponents are converting on 68.7% of their foul shots. They concede 12.4 dimes and 35.8 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 164th and 248th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take SMU

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