Houston Cougars vs Baylor Bears Prediction, 2/24/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Baylor Bears

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Location: Foster Pavilion in Waco, TX

TV: ESPN+

Foster Pavilion is the site where the Baylor Bears (19-7) will attempt to defeat the Houston Cougars (23-3) on Saturday.

The Houston Cougars took the court against Iowa State and notched a win by a score of 73-65 in their last contest. Houston ended with a 42.0% FG percentage (21 of 50) and converted 7 out of their 24 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cougars made 24 of 32 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 28 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 11 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 13 steals. Pertaining to defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 41.8% from the floor on 23 of 55 shooting. Iowa State earned 16 dimes and had 5 steals for this game. On top of that, Iowa State had 30 rebounds (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Iowa State finished the game at 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 10 of their 15 attempts. They made 9 of their 17 attempts from long range. Concerning personal fouls, the Cougars finished with 18 while Iowa State accounted for 21 personal fouls.

Jamal Shead is someone who was a factor in this game. He notched 26 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 38 minutes played and collected 4 boards. He ended up shooting 60.0% from the floor and also earned 6 dimes.

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Houston heads into this matchup with a record of 23-3 for the year. They are turning it over 8.7 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 18.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is grabbing 39.5 boards per game and has racked up 336 assists so far this year, which is 217th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cougars are connecting on 34.4% on 3-pointers (196 of 570) and 68.2% from the free throw line. They average 73.9 pts per contest (184th in D-1) while shooting 43.4% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars have forced 16.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.2 personal fouls. They currently rank 54th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 294 surrendered so far this year. The Cougars defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 37.4% (477 of 1,277) and they surrender 33.1 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 29.6% on shots from distance and they are ranked 1st in college basketball in PPG allowed (55.3).

For their last game, the Baylor Bears took a loss by a final score of 78-71 when they faced BYU. In relation to team rebounding, Baylor permitted BYU to snag 36 in total (15 on the offensive glass). They finished 38.9% from 3-point land by connecting on 14 of 36 and finished the contest at 6 of 9 from the free throw line (66.7%). The Bears permitted BYU to bury 29 out of 66 tries from the floor which left them shooting 43.9% in the game. Overall, the Bears finished the game shooting 25 out of 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Baylor buried 5 out of 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to convert 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 76.2%. BYU committed 17 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Bears to the free throw line for 21 tries. They also turned it over 9 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. The Bears were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 28 for the game.

Jalen Bridges was important for the Bears in this contest. He knocked down 6 out of 12 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and earned 8 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 33 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to get an assist.

Baylor has a win-loss record of 19-7 this season. When it comes to offense, the Bears are hitting on 49.3% from the field, which is ranked 15th in the nation. Baylor has tallied 2,147 pts on the year (82.6 per game) and they snag 34.9 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 15.4 times per contest (55th in the country) and they turn it over 11.7 times per game. The Bears have committed 16.8 fouls per game and they hit 72.8% from the charity stripe.

The Baylor defense allows 33.8% from downtown (181 of 535) and their opponents are converting on 71.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 13.2 assists and 29.6 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 219th and 5th in college basketball. The Bears are ranked 151st in D-1 in points allowed per game with 71.0. They are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the floor (276th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Baylor

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