Houston Cougars vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 1/29/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Monday, January 29, 2024

Location: Moody Center in Austin, TX

TV: ESPN

The Houston Cougars (18-2) are headed to Moody Center on Monday where they will try to defeat the Texas Longhorns (14-6).

The Houston Cougars faced off with Kansas State and went home with a win by a final score of 74-52 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Cougars ended up with 16 while Kansas State racked up 20 fouls. They also knocked down 7 of 21 tries from distance. Kansas State shot 58.3% from the free throw line by making 7 of 12 attempts. Furthermore, Kansas State pulled down 23 boards (4 offensive, 19 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Kansas State doled out 8 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. In relation to defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 40.4% from the field on 19 out of 47 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists for this game as well as forcing 16 turnovers and having 11 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 31 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Cougars buried 23 of 34 attempts for a percentage of 67.6%. Houston ended the contest with a 40.0% field goal percentage (22 out of 55) and buried 7 of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jamal Shead is one guy who played a role in the matchup. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the field and also recorded 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes but finished the game without grabbing a rebound. He notched 17 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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Houston will enter this game with a win-loss record of 18-2 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.1 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.0 personal fouls every game. As a team, Houston is pulling down 40.3 boards per contest and has earned 264 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 209th in the country in terms of passing. The Cougars are shooting 35.3% from downtown (155 of 439) and 67.5% from the free throw line. They average 74.0 points per game (193rd in the country) while connecting on 43.7% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Cougars are able to force 16.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 38th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 217 surrendered so far this year. The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 35.1% (339 of 967) and they relinquish 32.5 boards per game as a squad. They surrender 28.3% on shots from distance and they rank 1st in college hoops in points per game allowed (51.9).

The last time they took the court, the Texas Longhorns took a loss by a score of 84-72 when they faced BYU. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Texas allowed BYU to pull down 30 in all (7 on the offensive side). They shot 41.2% from 3-point land by shooting 7 out of 17 and finished the contest at 13 of 15 at the free throw line (86.7%). The Longhorns permitted BYU to make 32 of 50 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 64.0% in this game. When all was said and done, the Longhorns shot 27 for 61 from the field which had them sitting at 44.3%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Texas buried 8 out of their 22 tries (36.4%). They were able to convert 10 of them for a percentage of 62.5%. BYU had 15 fouls in the game which took the Longhorns to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They turned the ball over 7 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. The Longhorns corralled 12 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 21 for the contest.

Dylan Disu was important for the Longhorns in this contest. He buried 8 out of 16 for the contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and added 7 rebounds. He scored 19 points in his 27 mins on the hardwood and tallied 2 assists for the contest.

Texas has a mark of 14-6 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Longhorns are hitting on 48.2% from the field, which has them ranked 31st in college basketball. Texas has tallied 1,536 pts for the year (76.8 per contest) and they average 35.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.7 times per game (54th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.1 times per game. The Longhorns commit 16.9 fouls per game and they shoot 73.5% from the free throw line.

The Texas defense allows 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc (129 of 377) and their opponents are connecting on 69.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 11.5 dimes and 32.7 rebounds every game, which ranks them 75th and 70th in Division 1. The Longhorns on the defensive end are ranked 92nd in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 67.9. They are able to force 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.6% from the floor (138th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Texas

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