Wichita State Shockers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/2/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wichita State Shockers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (27-2) will compete against the Wichita State Shockers (15-13) at Fertitta Center on Thursday.

The Wichita State Shockers faced off with Tulane and notched a win by a score of 83-76 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Shockers walked away with 13 while Tulane totaled 21 personal fouls. They also knocked down 15 out of their 33 tries from beyond the arc. Tulane finished the contest at 55.6% from the charity stripe by burying 5 of their 9 tries. Additionally, Tulane grabbed 22 rebounds (4 offensive, 18 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Tulane distributed 21 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. In regard to the defense, Wichita State allowed the other team to go 45.2% from the floor on 28 out of 62 shooting. They also doled out 19 assists for the contest while forcing 10 turnovers and having 9 steals. Regarding grabbing boards, they compiled 33 with 2 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Shockers buried 21 of their 29 tries for a rate of 72.4%. Wichita State wrapped up the game with a 53.1% field goal percentage (26 out of 49) and knocked down 10 of their 22 shots from downtown.

Jaron Pierre is a player who came through in the matchup. He accounted for 28 points on 9 out of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 39 mins and grabbed 1 rebound. He walked away from this one shooting 52.9% from the field and also totaled 4 assists.

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Wichita State steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 15-13 for the season. They have an average of 70.7 pts per contest (202nd in Division 1) while connecting on 44.3% from the floor. The Shockers are shooting 30.0% on shots from downtown (184 of 614) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Wichita State is grabbing 36.5 rebounds per game and has 356 dimes so far this season, which ranks 279th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.4 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 15.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Shockers are able to force 11.8 turnovers per game while drawing 15.5 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 33.5% on 3-pointers while they are 131st in the country in points per game allowed (68.4). The Shockers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 40.5% (689 of 1,701) and they concede 34.6 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 217th in college hoops in allowing assists with 389 relinquished this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 76-57 when they faced East Carolina. In the matter of how they rebounded, Houston permitted East Carolina to pull down 22 overall (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 36.4% from beyond the arc by going 8 out of 22 and finished the game at 17 of 28 from the charity stripe (60.7%). The Cougars allowed East Carolina to make 16 of 50 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.0% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 66 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.9%. In the matter of shots from 3-point land, Houston made 6 out of 18 tries (33.3%). They were able to make 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 80.0%. East Carolina earned 14 fouls for this game which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 15 shots. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 5 steals in this game. The Cougars were able to corral 30 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 for the game.

Marcus Sasser ended up having an impact for the Cougars in the matchup. He scored 22 points in his 34 mins on the court and accounted for 3 dimes for the contest. He made 7 out of 16 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 43.8%, and accounted for 5 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 27-2 so far this season. The Cougars commit 16.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 71.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.0 times per game (55th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.7 times per contest. Houston has accumulated 2,207 points for the season (76.1 per game) and they grab 39.2 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 45th in college basketball.

The Cougars are ranked 1st in the country in points allowed per contest with 55.9. They are forcing their opponents into 14.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 35.8% from the field (1st in college hoops). The Houston defense gives up 27.5% on 3-point attempts (186 of 677) and their opponents are knocking down 69.6% of their foul shots. They relinquish 10.0 dimes and 31.2 boards every game, which ranks them 14th and 33rd in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wichita State

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