Villanova Wildcats vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/26/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Villanova Wildcats vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022

Location: AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Villanova (+2)

The Villanova Wildcats (29-7) are en route to AT&T Center on Saturday where they will play the Houston Cougars (32-5). Houston opens this matchup as 2-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total is 128.5.

The Villanova Wildcats faced Michigan and took home the win by a score of 63-55 in their last game. Villanova ended with a 37.3% field goal percentage (22 out of 59) and buried 9 of their 30 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 10 of their 12 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 36 with 8 of them being offensive. They also doled out 10 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When discussing defending, Villanova allowed 34.4% from the field on 21 of 61 shooting. Michigan distributed 11 assists and had 3 steals for this contest. In addition, Michigan pulled down 38 rebounds (11 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Michigan walked away from this one shooting 50.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 7 of 14 tries. They converted 6 of 18 shots from distance. In relation to personal fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 12 while Michigan accumulated 11 personal fouls.

Jermaine Samuels is a guy who came through for this contest. He ended up shooting 61.5% from the field and totaled 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and grabbed 7 rebounds. He ended up scoring 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

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Villanova enters this game with a mark of 29-7 for the season. They cough up possession 9.9 times per game and as a group are committing 15.1 fouls every game. As a unit, Villanova is pulling down 34.9 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 433 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 142nd in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are shooting 36.0% on three-point attempts (337 of 936) and 82.6% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 72.5 points per contest (139th in the nation) while shooting 43.7% from the floor.

On defense, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 11.9 turnovers per game while drawing 16.6 personal fouls. They are giving up 30.7% from beyond the arc and they rank 23rd in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (62.7). The Wildcats defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 40.8% (815 of 2,000) and they surrender 32.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 189th in D-1 in giving up assists with 405 relinquished for the campaign.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 72-60 against Arizona. In regard to cleaning up the glass, Houston allowed Arizona to pull down 31 in total (13 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 31.8% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 7 of 22 and finished the contest at 17 out of 23 from the free throw line (73.9%). The Cougars allowed Arizona to convert 18 of 54 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 33.3% for the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Cougars finished the game shooting 23 out of 50 from the floor which had them at 46.0%. In terms of three-point shots, Houston converted 9 of their 20 tries (45.0%). They were able to bury 17 of them for a clip of 68.0%. Arizona was called for 21 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They also gave up possession 11 times, while earning 5 steals for the game. The Cougars recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the contest.

Jamal Shead pitched in for the Cougars for the game. He had 21 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and had 6 assists in this matchup. He converted 5 of 16 in the matchup giving him a rate of 31.3%, and earned 4 rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss mark of 32-5 for the season. As an offensive team, the Cougars are connecting on 46.9% from the field, which ranks 37th in the country. Houston has totaled 2,800 points for the season (75.7 per contest) and they snag 39.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 16.5 times per contest (12th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11.2 times per game. The Cougars are committing 17.2 fouls every game and they go 66.7% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense gives up 28.9% on shots from distance (241 of 834) and their opponents are connecting on 71.1% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 10.9 dimes and 31.8 rebounds per game, which is 53rd and 47th in the nation. The Cougars defensively are ranked 3rd in college basketball in PPG given up with 59.0. They are able to force 14.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 37.4% from the field (1st in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Villanova (+2)

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