Penn Quakers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 12/30/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn Quakers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, December 30, 2023

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (12-0) will try to beat the Penn Quakers (8-5) at Fertitta Center on Saturday.

The Penn Quakers faced off with Rider and went home with a win by a final score of 77-73 in their last contest. Penn finished the contest with a 38.6% FG percentage (27 out of 70) and converted 10 of 26 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Quakers knocked down 13 of 17 tries for a rate of 76.5%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they collected 41 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 14 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When talking about defending, Penn allowed the other team to go 37.7% from the floor on 26 out of 69 shooting. Rider earned 13 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Rider grabbed 40 rebounds (9 offensive, 31 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Rider finished the contest at 68.4% when shooting free throws by knocking down 13 of 19 shots. They buried 8 out of their 21 tries from distance. With respect to fouls, the Quakers left the arena with 15 and Rider accumulated 18 fouls.

Nick Spinoso is a guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He ended up with 19 points on 9 out of 17 shooting. He played for 30 mins and totaled 11 boards. He finished the contest at 52.9% from the floor and also recorded 4 assists.

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Penn will take the court with a mark of 8-5 so far this season. They have an average of 80.9 points per contest (59th in D-1) while shooting 47.4% from the field. The Quakers are shooting 40.2% on 3-point shots (133 of 331) and 66.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Penn is collecting 39.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 224 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 15th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 14.7 fouls every game.

On defense, the Quakers are forcing 11.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. They are 310th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 181 surrendered this year. The Quakers defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.8% (348 of 794) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They surrender 34.1% on three-point shots and they are 200th in the country in opponents PPG (71.6).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Houston Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 72-37 against Texas State. The Cougars snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards totaling 35 for the matchup. They turned it over 11 times, while recording 14 steals in this contest. Texas State earned 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 23 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a clip of 69.6%. In the matter of shooting from downtown, Houston buried 4 out of their 19 tries (21.1%). When this game wrapped up, the Cougars finished shooting 26 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 43.3%. The Cougars allowed Texas State to make 13 of 45 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 28.9% for the game. They finished 13.3% from behind the 3-point line by going 2 out of 15 and ended up going 9 of 17 at the charity stripe (52.9%). In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Houston permitted Texas State to pull down 29 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Emanuel Sharp was important for the Cougars in this matchup. He racked up 17 points in his 27 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for this contest. He knocked down 2 of 10 in this contest for a rate of 20.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 12-0 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars are shooting 43.5% from the floor, which is 249th in the nation. Houston has scored 906 points on the campaign (75.5 per contest) and they average 41.1 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 14.1 times per contest (149th in the country) and they turn it over 9.6 times per game. The Cougars commit 18.0 fouls per contest and they go 66.0% from the charity stripe.

The Houston defense gives up 27.2% on 3-point shots (64 of 235) and their opposition makes 61.4% of their foul shots. They surrender 10.5 dimes and 32.6 rebounds per game, which is 42nd and 70th in college hoops. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 50.0. They are forcing 18.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 34.8% from the field (2nd in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston

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