Kansas Jayhawks vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas Jayhawks vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN

The Houston Cougars (27-3) will try to defeat the Kansas Jayhawks (22-8) at Fertitta Center on Saturday.

The Kansas Jayhawks faced off with Kansas State and notched a win by a score of 90-68 in their last contest. Kansas wrapped up the game having earned a 45.2% field goal percentage (28 of 62) and converted 6 out of their 13 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Jayhawks buried 28 of their 31 attempts for a percentage of 90.3%. With respect to hauling in boards, they collected 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 16 assists in the game as well as creating 11 turnovers and having 9 steals. When discussing the defense, Kansas let their opponent shoot 44.6% from the field on 25 of 56 shooting. Kansas State distributed 12 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. In addition, Kansas State pulled down 28 rebounds (2 offensive, 26 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Kansas State finished 47.6% when shooting free throws by converting 10 of 21 attempts. They buried 8 of 24 attempts from beyond the arc. Regarding personal fouls, the Jayhawks ended up finishing with 17 while Kansas State racked up 20 personal fouls.

Kevin McCullar is a player who played a role in this game. He finished the contest at 35.7% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 29 mins and also collected 3 rebounds. He walked away with 19 points on 5 out of 14 shooting.

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Kansas enters this game with a win-loss mark of 22-8 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 11.4 times per contest and as a squad they commit 14.8 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Kansas is pulling down 36.1 boards per contest and has 580 assists for the year, which has them ranked 1st in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Jayhawks are shooting 34.4% on 3-point shots (174 of 506) and 73.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 77.0 points per contest (83rd in the country) while hitting 49.8% from the field.

On defense, the Jayhawks are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game while drawing 16.3 fouls. They are conceding 33.0% on 3-pointers and they rank 81st in college basketball in points per game allowed (68.3). The Jayhawks defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 40.3% (721 of 1,787) and they relinquish 32.9 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 121st in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 369 surrendered for the season.

In their last game, the Houston Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 67-59 when they played UCF. The Cougars earned 14 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 27 for this contest. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. UCF committed 19 personal fouls for this game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw tries for a rate of 50.0%. In terms of shots from distance, Houston converted 8 of their 24 attempts (33.3%). In all, the Cougars shot 25 for 58 from the field which had them sitting at 43.1%. The Cougars permitted UCF to knock down 20 out of their 44 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5% in this contest. They finished 30.0% from three-point range via 3 of 10 and ended up going 16 out of 23 from the free throw line (69.6%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Houston permitted UCF to snag 26 in total (7 offensive).

LJ Cryer ended up having an impact for the Cougars in the matchup. He knocked down 9 out of 17 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 52.9%, and had 3 rebounds. He scored 25 points in his 38 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the game.

Houston has a win-loss record of 27-3 so far this season. The Cougars are committing 18.0 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 13.0 times per contest (193rd in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 8.6 times per contest. Houston has accounted for 2,224 points this year (74.1 per game) and they grab 38.0 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars are shooting 43.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 241st in the country.

The Cougars defensively are ranked 1st in the country in PPG given up with 57.3. They are forcing their opponents into 16.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.5% from the floor (4th in college basketball). The Houston defense allows 30.7% on shots from 3-point land (187 of 609) and their opponents are connecting on 66.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 11.5 assists and 33.3 boards every game, ranking them 79th and 100th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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