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

Game: Houston Cougars vs Oklahoma Sooners

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK

TV: ESPN

The Houston Cougars (25-3) are traveling to Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday where they will try to beat the Oklahoma Sooners (19-9).

The Houston Cougars faced Cincinnati and went home with a win by a final score of 67-59 in their last game. Houston ended the game with a 38.9% field goal percentage (21 out of 54) and made 7 out of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Cougars converted 18 of their 27 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 22 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 13 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 18 turnovers and getting 15 steals. In reference to defending, Houston allowed the other team to go 39.6% from the floor on 21 of 53 shooting. Cincinnati dished out 14 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Cincinnati snagged 39 rebounds (14 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't have a block. Cincinnati finished the contest at 80.0% when shooting free throws by burying 12 of their 15 tries. They also buried 5 of their 19 attempts from 3-point land. In the matter of fouls, the Cougars finished with 16 while Cincinnati recorded 23 fouls.

LJ Cryer is a guy who had an impact for the game. He finished 46.7% from the field and also recorded 2 assists. He played 35 minutes and also snagged 2 boards. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting.

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Houston enters this one with a mark of 25-3 so far this season. They turn it over 8.7 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is snagging 38.8 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 366 assists for the campaign, which ranks 201st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cougars are shooting 34.2% from downtown (209 of 611) and 68.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 73.9 pts per contest (177th in the nation) on 43.4% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing 16.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.5 personal fouls. They are conceding 30.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 1st in college hoops in opponents PPG (56.2). The Cougars are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.7% (522 of 1,385) and they relinquish 33.5 boards per contest as a basketball team. They rank 62nd in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 321 relinquished on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Oklahoma Sooners took a loss by a final score of 58-45 when they played Iowa State. When talking about rebounds, Oklahoma allowed Iowa State to get 35 in total (11 on the offensive glass). They finished 25.0% from 3-point land by hitting 4 out of 16 and ended up going 12 out of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). The Sooners permitted Iowa State to bury 21 of 63 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 33.3% for the contest. Overall, the Sooners shot 15 out of 46 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.6%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Oklahoma made 3 out of 17 attempts (17.6%). They were able to make 12 of the free throw tries for a clip of 63.2%. Iowa State earned 19 personal fouls for the game which got the Sooners to the free throw line for 19 tries. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 2 steals in this game. The Sooners earned 26 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 33 for the matchup.

Rivaldo Soares ended up being a factor for the Sooners for this contest. He earned 9 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for this game. He converted 3 out of 6 for this contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 7 rebounds.

Oklahoma has a record of 19-9 on the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Sooners are connecting on 46.5% from the floor, which is 82nd in the country. Oklahoma has tallied 2,103 pts for the year (75.1 per game) and they grab 36.0 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.5 times per game (153rd in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 12.3 times per contest. The Sooners commit 16.0 fouls per contest and they shoot 73.6% from the free throw line.

The Sooners are ranked 49th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 66.9. They are able to force 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 40.9% from the field (40th in college basketball). The Oklahoma defense allows 28.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (169 of 584) and their opponents are knocking down 74.8% of their free throw shots. They allow 11.5 assists and 32.0 boards per game, which is 73rd and 38th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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