SMU Mustangs vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/5/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Houston Cougars

Date: Thursday, January 5, 2023

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN2

The SMU Mustangs (6-8) are on their way to Fertitta Center on Thursday where they will go up against the Houston Cougars (14-1).

The SMU Mustangs faced Tulsa and earned the victory with a final of 92-67 in their last contest. SMU wrapped up the game having earned a 57.9% field goal percentage (33 of 57) and converted 14 of 26 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Mustangs made 12 of their 19 tries for a rate of 63.2%. In terms of hauling in boards, they earned 31 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 25 assists for the game while forcing 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In reference to defense, SMU allowed the other team to shoot 41.8% from the field on 23 of 55 shooting. Tulsa distributed 10 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. Moreover, Tulsa grabbed 24 boards (8 offensive, 16 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Tulsa ended up shooting 68.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 22 attempts. They knocked down 6 of their 20 tries from 3-point land. When discussing fouls, the Mustangs ended up finishing with 17 and Tulsa totaled 14 fouls.

Zach Nutall is a guy who had an impact for this game. He accounted for 17 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 mins and also snagged 1 rebound. He ended up shooting 54.5% from the floor and totaled 4 assists.

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SMU steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 6-8 on the campaign. They average 69.9 points per outing (229th in the country) while hitting 43.1% from the field. The Mustangs are shooting 32.8% on 3-pointers (90 of 274) and 70.5% from the free throw line. As a team, SMU is pulling down 36.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 175 assists for the year, which ranks 271st in the nation in terms of passing. They cough up possession 12.4 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.1 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Mustangs are forcing their opponents into 11.9 turnovers per game while drawing 16.4 fouls. They are 238th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 193 surrendered this year. The Mustangs defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.7% (354 of 848) and they relinquish 36.9 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 33.7% on 3-point shots and they are 223rd in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (70.1).

For their last game, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 71-65 when they faced UCF. The Cougars snagged 20 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 32 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. UCF earned 17 fouls in this game which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to make 17 of them for a rate of 81.0%. Regarding three-point shots, Houston made 6 out of 19 attempts (31.6%). When all was said and done, the Cougars ended up going 24 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5%. The Cougars allowed UCF to make 21 of their 54 tries from the field which had them sitting at 38.9% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 22.2% from three-point range by connecting on 6 out of 27 and ended up going 17 of 20 from the free throw line (85.0%). In the matter of rebounds, Houston allowed UCF to pull down 33 in total (13 on the offensive glass).

Tramon Mark ended up being a factor for the Cougars in this contest. He converted 6 out of 9 in this game for a rate of 66.7%, and had 6 rebounds. He earned 19 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accounted for 1 assist for the contest.

Houston has a win-loss record of 14-1 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Cougars are hitting on 47.1% from the field, which is ranked 70th in the country. Houston has scored 1,125 pts this year (75.0 per contest) and they pull in 39.9 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 14.6 times per game (109th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.3 times per contest. The Cougars commit 14.9 fouls every game and they connect on 71.1% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 1st in Division 1 in points given up per game with 50.9. They are able to force 15.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 33.2% from the field (1st in college basketball). The Houston defense gives up 23.6% on shots from 3-point land (85 of 360) and their opponents are connecting on 68.4% of their foul shots. They surrender 8.7 assists and 31.8 total boards per game, which is ranked 7th and 63rd in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SMU

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