Houston Cougars vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 1/23/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs BYU Cougars

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The BYU Cougars (14-4) will compete against the Houston Cougars (16-2) at Marriott Center on Tuesday.

The Houston Cougars stepped onto the hardwood against UCF and notched a win by a score of 57-42 in their last game. Houston wrapped up the game having earned a 34.5% FG percentage (20 of 58) and buried 6 of 18 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 11 of their 16 tries for a percentage of 68.8%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 38 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 12 dimes for the game while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When discussing the defense, Houston allowed 15.9% from the floor on 7 out of 44 shooting. UCF earned 5 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. In addition, UCF collected 37 boards (9 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't have a block. UCF walked away from this one shooting 72.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 24 of their 33 attempts. They also buried 4 of 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. In relation to fouls, the Cougars walked away with 23 while UCF totaled 16 fouls.

LJ Cryer is one player who came through for the contest. He ended up shooting 42.9% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He played for 33 minutes played and pulled down 2 rebounds. He walked away with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting.

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Houston heads into this game with a mark of 16-2 for the year. They currently have an average of 73.9 points per game (205th in college basketball) while shooting 44.1% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 34.9% from downtown (138 of 395) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is snagging 40.4 boards per game and has totaled 246 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 205th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 9.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 18.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 16.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 29th in college hoops in giving up assists with 193 relinquished for the campaign. The Cougars defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 34.3% (295 of 861) and they surrender 32.6 boards per game as a unit. They give up 27.9% from beyond the arc and they are 2nd in college basketball in PPG allowed (51.0).

When they last played, the BYU Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 85-78 against Texas Tech. The Cougars recorded 24 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 37 for this game. They turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 4 steals in this contest. Texas Tech had 9 fouls in this game which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for 5 attempts. They were able to knock down 3 of the free throw tries for a rate of 60.0%. In terms of shots from distance, BYU made 13 out of their 39 attempts (33.3%). When the game finished, the Cougars finished 31 out of 70 from the field which had them shooting 44.3%. The Cougars permitted Texas Tech to bury 29 of 61 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 47.5% in the matchup. They finished 50.0% from beyond the perimeter via 10 of 20 and finished the contest at 17 out of 18 at the charity stripe (94.4%). When discussing cleaning the glass, BYU permitted Texas Tech to pull down 32 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Aly Khalifa ended up being important for the Cougars in the matchup. He totaled 21 points in his 28 minutes on the court and totaled 3 assists in this contest. He knocked down 9 of 17 for the game for a field goal rate of 52.9%, and had 7 rebounds.

BYU has a mark of 14-4 on the year. The Cougars commit 17.3 personal fouls every game and they go 72.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 20.7 times per game (2nd in the country) and they are turning it over 10.8 times per game. BYU has scored 1,535 pts this season (85.3 per contest) and they pull down 42.4 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 47.5% from the field, which ranks 55th in college basketball.

The BYU defense allows 28.5% on shots from 3-point land (100 of 351) and their opposition knocks down 69.4% of their free throw shots. They surrender 11.5 dimes and 32.2 total boards per game, which is 80th and 51st in the nation. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 36th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 64.8. They are forcing 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.5% from the floor (50th in the country).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take BYU and under the total points

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