UAB Blazers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/18/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UAB Blazers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Friday, March 18, 2022

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: UAB (+8)

The UAB Blazers (27-7) are en route to PPG Paints Arena on Friday where they will go up against the Houston Cougars (29-5). Houston opens this contest as 8-point favorites. The over/under is set at 136.5.

The UAB Blazers played Louisiana Tech and notched a win by a score of 82-73 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Blazers finished with 17 while Louisiana Tech recorded 21 personal fouls. They made 4 of their 28 attempts from distance. Louisiana Tech ended up going 64.7% at the free throw line by converting 11 of their 17 shots. On top of that, Louisiana Tech pulled down 32 rebounds (15 offensive, 17 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Louisiana Tech earned 5 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. In the matter of defense, UAB allowed the other team to shoot 42.0% from the field on 29 out of 69 shooting. They also doled out 8 assists for the game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Concerning pulling down boards, they collected 34 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Blazers made 25 of their 31 shots for a rate of 80.6%. UAB wrapped up the game having earned a 49.0% FG percentage (25 out of 51) and made 7 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc.

Jordan Walker is a guy who had an impact in the matchup. He finished the contest at 54.5% from the floor and also earned 4 assists. He played 37 minutes played and collected 6 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 27 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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UAB comes into this game with a mark of 27-7 so far this year. They are averaging 80.7 points per contest (6th in D-1) while hitting 46.8% from the floor. The Blazers are shooting 37.9% on shots from beyond the arc (271 of 715) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, UAB is pulling down 38.4 boards per contest and has racked up 441 dimes this year, which has them ranked 112th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.6 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Blazers are forcing 16.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.7 fouls. They are relinquishing 32.0% on shots from distance while they are 91st in D-1 in points per game allowed (66.3). The Blazers are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.3% (801 of 1,939) and they surrender 33.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 119th in college basketball in giving up assists with 371 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 71-53 against Memphis. In the matter of team rebounding, Houston permitted Memphis to pull down 31 in all (7 offensive). They finished the game shooting 10.0% from three-point range by connecting on 1 out of 10 and ended up going 8 of 14 at the charity stripe (57.1%). The Cougars allowed Memphis to convert 22 of 51 tries from the floor which had them shooting 43.1% in the game. When this game wrapped up, the Cougars ended up shooting 25 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.1%. In relation to 3-pointers, Houston knocked down 8 of 24 tries (33.3%). They were able to convert 13 of them for a percentage of 68.4%. Memphis earned 19 personal fouls in the game which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They coughed it up 7 times, while recording 10 steals for the contest. The Cougars collected 19 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 in the matchup.

Fabian White ended up being a factor for the Cougars in the game. He buried 8 of 13 for the matchup giving him a rate of 61.5%, and had 3 rebounds. He had 20 points in his 29 minutes of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

Houston has a mark of 29-5 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars are shooting 46.9% from the field, which ranks them 43rd in the nation. Houston has earned 2,578 points so far this season (75.8 per game) and they collect 39.2 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.7 times per contest (11th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game. The Cougars have committed 17.4 fouls every game and they hit 66.9% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense surrenders 29.0% on 3-point shots (223 of 768) and their opponents are making 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 10.9 dimes and 31.7 rebounds every game, which ranks them 48th and 47th in Division 1. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 4th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 58.9. They have forced 14.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.3% from the floor (1st in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UAB (+8)

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