Houston Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS

TV: ESPN

Allen Fieldhouse is where the Kansas Jayhawks (17-4) will meet the Houston Cougars (19-2) on Saturday.

The Houston Cougars played Texas and earned the victory with a final of 76-72 in their last contest. Houston ended the contest with a 41.2% FG percentage (28 out of 68) and knocked down 8 out of their 24 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Cougars made 12 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In regard to hauling in boards, they compiled 43 with 13 of them being offensive. They also distributed 13 dimes for the matchup in addition to creating 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about defending, Houston allowed 43.3% from the field on 26 out of 60 shooting. Texas earned 19 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. On top of that, Texas had 32 rebounds (6 offensive, 26 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Texas finished shooting 70.0% from the free throw line by converting 14 of 20 tries. They also converted 6 of their 20 tries from beyond the arc. In relation to fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 20 and Texas finished the game with 16 fouls.

J'Wan Roberts is a guy who was a factor for the matchup. He left the arena with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He played 28 minutes played and also totaled 6 boards. He finished the game at 62.5% from the field and also earned 2 dimes.

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Houston heads into this contest with a mark of 19-2 so far this season. They cough up possession 9.1 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is collecting 40.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 277 assists on the season, which is 186th in the nation in terms of passing. The Cougars are shooting 35.2% on shots from distance (163 of 463) and 67.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 74.0 points per game (190th in the country) while shooting 43.6% from the field.

On defense, the Cougars are forcing 16.4 turnovers per game while drawing 16.3 personal fouls. They are 66th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 236 conceded for the campaign. The Cougars are giving up a shooting percentage of 35.5% (365 of 1,027) and they surrender 32.6 boards per game as a group. They are relinquishing 28.3% on 3-point shots while they are 1st in college hoops in PPG allowed (52.9).

In their last game, the Kansas Jayhawks walked away with a victory by a final of 83-54 when they played Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks snagged 36 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 40 in this game. They turned the ball over 10 times, while earning 7 steals in this game. Oklahoma State earned 14 fouls in this contest which took the Jayhawks to the charity stripe for a total of 9 shots. They were able to convert 7 of those for a percentage of 77.8%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, Kansas made 8 of their 18 tries (44.4%). When all was said and done, the Jayhawks finished the game shooting 34 for 59 from the field which had them at 57.6%. The Jayhawks allowed Oklahoma State to make 17 of 58 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 29.3% for the game. They shot 27.6% from distance by going 8 out of 29 and ended up shooting 12 out of 19 from the free throw line (63.2%). When discussing rebounding, Kansas allowed Oklahoma State to grab 28 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

KJ Adams pitched in for the Jayhawks in this matchup. He buried 7 of 7 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 100.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He scored 16 points in his 31 minutes on the hardwood and had 6 dimes in this game.

Kansas has a record of 17-4 so far this season. As an offensive team, the Jayhawks are shooting 50.9% from the field, which has them ranked 4th in D-1. Kansas has 1,663 points on the campaign (79.2 per game) and they snag 37.2 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 20.7 times per contest (1st in the country) and they are giving up possession 11.8 times per game. The Jayhawks are committing 14.6 personal fouls per contest and they hit 74.1% from the charity stripe.

The Jayhawks on the defensive side of the court are 88th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 67.6. They are forcing 12.2 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.6% from the field (18th in college basketball). The Kansas defense concedes 32.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (164 of 511) and their opponents are knocking down 70.3% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 11.7 assists and 32.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 95th and 61st in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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