Houston Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 1/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Location: James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

TV: ESPN

The Iowa State Cyclones (11-3) welcome the Houston Cougars (14-0) at James H. Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday.

The Houston Cougars faced West Virginia and notched a win by a score of 89-55 in their last contest. Houston wrapped up the game with a 53.1% field goal percentage (34 of 64) and made 9 of 18 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 12 of 14 shots for a percentage of 85.7%. Concerning getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 38 with 9 of them being offensive. They also recorded 16 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 10 steals. When talking about defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 32.1% from the field on 18 of 56 shooting. West Virginia dished out 10 assists and had 3 steals in the game. Moreover, West Virginia pulled down 28 rebounds (9 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. West Virginia finished shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by making 15 of 20 tries. They also made 4 of 23 tries from distance. Regarding fouls, the Cougars ended up walking away with 19 and West Virginia had 15 fouls.

LJ Cryer is someone who was a major contributor for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 58.3% from the field and earned 1 assist. He played 31 minutes played and totaled 3 rebounds. He walked away with 20 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

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Houston will enter this matchup with a mark of 14-0 for the year. They have an average of 76.9 points per outing (134th in the country) while hitting 44.6% from the floor. The Cougars are shooting 35.8% on 3-point shots (113 of 316) and 66.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is snagging 41.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 197 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 202nd in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 9.1 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.9 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 17.9 turnovers per game while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 16th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 143 relinquished for the campaign. The Cougars are giving up a FG percentage of 34.3% (230 of 670) and they surrender 32.4 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are relinquishing 26.4% on three-point shots and they are 2nd in the country in PPG allowed (49.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Iowa State Cyclones took a defeat with a final score of 71-63 when they played Oklahoma. In reference to rebounding, Iowa State permitted Oklahoma to grab 29 in total (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.0% from three-point range by going 10 out of 25 and finished the game at 13 out of 16 at the free throw line (81.3%). The Cyclones allowed Oklahoma to bury 24 out of 51 tries from the field which left them shooting 47.1% in the matchup. Overall, the Cyclones walked away from this one shooting 26 out of 61 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.6%. In terms of shooting from distance, Iowa State buried 3 out of their 16 attempts (18.8%). They were able to bury 8 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 72.7%. Oklahoma earned 17 fouls in the matchup which took the Cyclones to the free throw line for 11 tries. They turned it over 8 times, while getting 6 steals for this game. The Cyclones corralled 21 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this game.

Robert Jones ended up having an impact for the Cyclones in this matchup. He converted 6 of 11 in this matchup giving him a rate of 54.5%, and had 7 rebounds. He accumulated 12 points in his 22 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to get an assist.

Iowa State has a win-loss mark of 11-3 on the year. The Cyclones are committing 15.4 fouls every game and they go 69.6% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 18.4 times per game (13th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 10.6 times per game. Iowa State has 1,184 pts on the campaign (84.6 per contest) and they collect 37.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Cyclones are shooting 49.9% from the field, which ranks 14th in D-1.

The Cyclones defensively are ranked 7th in college hoops in points given up per game with 59.9. They are forcing 18.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 38.6% from the field (17th in college basketball). The Iowa State defense concedes 33.5% on 3-point shots (112 of 334) and their opponents are making 72.5% of their free throw shots. They have given up 11.6 dimes and 30.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 91st and 21st in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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