Northern Kentucky Norse vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Kentucky Norse vs Houston Cougars

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Location: Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, AL

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Northern Kentucky (+22)

The Houston Cougars (31-3) are welcoming the Northern Kentucky Norse (22-12) at Legacy Arena at BJCC on Thursday. Northern Kentucky is 22-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is set at 122.

The Northern Kentucky Norse faced Cleveland State and took home the win by a score of 63-61 in their last game. Northern Kentucky ended the contest having earned a 41.2% FG percentage (21 of 51) and buried 5 of their 20 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Norse knocked down 16 of 18 shots for a rate of 88.9%. When talking about hauling in boards, they earned 27 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 5 assists in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and getting 14 steals. When talking about defense, Northern Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 42.1% from the field on 24 of 57 shooting. Cleveland State doled out 16 dimes and had 4 steals for this contest. Furthermore, Cleveland State collected 33 rebounds (13 offensive, 20 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Cleveland State went 50.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 5 of 10 tries. They made 8 of 17 tries from long range. In the matter of fouls, the Norse ended up finishing with 14 and Cleveland State racked up 16 fouls.

Sam Vinson is someone who was a contributor for this game. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and recorded 2 assists. He was on the court for 38 minutes and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He totaled 16 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Expert Picks

Northern Kentucky will take the court with a win-loss mark of 22-12 for the season. They are averaging 68.2 points per outing (271st in the nation) while connecting on 43.2% from the field. The Norse are connecting on 35.0% on shots from 3-point land (278 of 794) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Northern Kentucky is snagging 32.4 boards per contest and has accounted for 461 assists on the campaign, which ranks 96th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 11.4 times per game and as a squad they are committing 15.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Norse are forcing 15.6 turnovers per game while drawing 15.9 fouls. They concede 36.5% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 28th in D-1 in PPG allowed (63.6). The Norse are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.7% (768 of 1,757) and they concede 33.5 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 322nd in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 471 surrendered this year.

For their last game, the Houston Cougars took a loss by a score of 75-65 against Memphis. The Cougars corralled 17 defensive rebounds and 20 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in this game. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 5 steals for this contest. Memphis earned 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 28 shots. They were able to make 19 of the free throws for a percentage of 67.9%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, Houston knocked down 6 of 25 tries (24.0%). In all, the Cougars shot 20 for 64 from the floor which gave them a rate of 31.3%. The Cougars allowed Memphis to convert 27 out of 53 tries from the floor which had them shooting 50.9% in the matchup. They finished 50.0% from distance by shooting 6 of 12 and ended up going 15 out of 21 from the charity stripe (71.4%). Regarding rebounds, Houston allowed Memphis to snag 33 overall (9 on the offensive glass).

J'Wan Roberts ended up being a factor for the Cougars in the game. He knocked down 5 of 11 for the contest for a rate of 45.5%, and had 20 rebounds. He had 12 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 3 assists in the game.

Houston has a record of 31-3 on the season. As an offense, the Cougars are connecting on 46.2% from the field, which ranks them 76th in the nation. Houston has scored 2,551 points so far this year (75.0 per game) and they average 38.8 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 14.8 times per contest (62nd in college basketball) and they turn it over 9.9 times per game. The Cougars commit 16.6 fouls every game and they go 71.9% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in Division 1 in points given up per game with 56.5. They are able to force 14.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 36.4% from the floor (1st in the nation). The Houston defense allows 27.8% on 3-point attempts (213 of 766) and their opponents are knocking down 69.0% of their foul shots. They relinquish 10.1 assists and 31.5 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 16th and 38th in the country.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (-22)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here