Houston Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 2/10/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

Fifth Third Arena is the location where the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-7) will go up against the Houston Cougars (20-3) on Saturday.

The Houston Cougars took the court against Oklahoma State and went home with a win by a final score of 79-63 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Cougars left the arena with 23 while Oklahoma State totaled 16 fouls. They converted 5 of their 21 tries from distance. Oklahoma State finished shooting 64.9% from the free throw line by knocking down 24 of 37 attempts. Furthermore, Oklahoma State totaled 24 boards (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Oklahoma State totaled 5 assists and had 7 steals for the game. Pertaining to defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 40.5% from the field on 17 out of 42 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. In the matter of getting rebounds, they earned a total of 33 with 12 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Cougars made 11 of 14 attempts for a percentage of 78.6%. Houston ended the contest with a 49.2% field goal percentage (31 out of 63) and made 6 of 15 3-point shots.

Jamal Shead is one player who was a factor for this game. He shot 66.7% from the floor and earned 4 assists. He was on the court for 29 mins but didn't pull down any rebounds. He totaled 23 points on 8 of 12 shooting.

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Houston will take the court with a win-loss record of 20-3 for the year. They turn it over 8.9 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.0 fouls per contest. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 39.6 boards per contest and has 304 dimes for the year, which ranks 176th in college basketball in terms of passing. The Cougars are hitting 35.1% on 3-point shots (178 of 507) and 68.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 73.9 pts per game (193rd in D-1) while shooting 43.5% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing 16.5 turnovers every game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 28.6% from 3-point land and they rank 1st in college basketball in points per game allowed (54.4). The Cougars defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 37.1% (413 of 1,114) and they surrender 32.7 boards per contest as a unit. They currently rank 74th in the country in giving up assists with 261 conceded on the year.

For their last game, the Cincinnati Bearcats went home victorious with a score of 75-72 against Texas Tech. The Bearcats were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for this contest. They also turned it over 13 times, while earning 7 steals in this matchup. Texas Tech was called for 14 fouls for this game which took the Bearcats to the free throw line for 10 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. In regard to three-point shots, Cincinnati converted 7 of 20 attempts (35.0%). When the game finished, the Bearcats went 29 for 65 from the floor which had them shooting 44.6%. The Bearcats allowed Texas Tech to knock down 24 out of 59 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.7% for the matchup. They went 33.3% from downtown by shooting 5 out of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 19 of 24 from the charity stripe (79.2%). Concerning how they rebounded, Cincinnati permitted Texas Tech to pull down 28 in all (14 offensive).

Simas Lukosius was important for the Bearcats in this matchup. He knocked down 6 of 12 in this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. He tallied 16 points in his 35 mins on the court and added 2 dimes for the matchup.

Cincinnati has a win-loss record of 15-7 on the year. The Bearcats commit 14.9 fouls per game while shooting 68.5% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.6 times per contest (49th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per game. Cincinnati has scored 1,693 pts on the campaign (77.0 per game) and they grab 41.4 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bearcats are shooting 44.7% from the floor, which is ranked 184th in the country.

The Cincinnati defense surrenders 32.8% on 3-point attempts (148 of 451) and opponents are knocking down 73.2% of their free throw shots. They concede 12.6 assists and 31.7 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 153rd and 32nd in the nation. The Bearcats on defense are ranked 57th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 66.8. They are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the field (59th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati

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