Kansas State Wildcats vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/27/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas State Wildcats vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 27, 2024

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Fertitta Center is the location where the Houston Cougars (17-2) will attempt to defeat the Kansas State Wildcats (14-5) on Saturday.

The Kansas State Wildcats faced off with Iowa State and ended up losing by a score of 78-67 in their last game. Kansas State ended with a 44.9% field goal percentage (22 of 49) and converted 8 of their 24 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Wildcats made 15 of their 23 attempts for a rate of 65.2%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 23 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 13 assists in this contest as well as forcing 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. Pertaining to defending, Kansas State let their opponent shoot 43.1% from the floor on 22 of 51 shooting. Iowa State distributed 13 dimes and had 10 steals for this game. Additionally, Iowa State grabbed 34 rebounds (11 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Iowa State finished the contest at 69.2% from the free throw line by converting 27 of their 39 attempts. They also converted 7 of 21 tries from three-point range. In reference to fouls, the Wildcats finished with 26 and Iowa State recorded 20 fouls.

Arthur Kaluma is one player who was a contributor in the matchup. He left the arena with 16 points on 4 of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 37 mins and grabbed 2 rebounds. He finished the contest at 36.4% from the field and earned 2 assists.

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Kansas State enters this matchup with a mark of 14-5 on the campaign. They are giving up possession 14.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.5 fouls per contest. As a team, Kansas State is grabbing 38.5 rebounds per game and has accumulated 288 dimes so far this year, which ranks 90th in the nation in terms of passing. The Wildcats are hitting 31.7% on shots from beyond the arc (145 of 458) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.1 points per contest (194th in Division 1) while hitting 43.9% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Wildcats are able to force 13.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.2 personal fouls. They give up 31.6% from 3-point land while they are 93rd in the nation in PPG allowed (67.8). The Wildcats defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 39.7% (459 of 1,155) and they concede 34.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 113th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 226 relinquished so far this year.

When they last played, the Houston Cougars got the victory with a final of 75-68 when they played BYU. Concerning how they rebounded, Houston allowed BYU to grab 30 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They shot 28.9% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 11 of 38 and finished the game at 7 out of 10 from the free throw line (70.0%). The Cougars permitted BYU to knock down 25 of their 59 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4% in this contest. In all, the Cougars shot 24 for 59 from the floor which had them shooting 40.7%. In regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Houston made 10 out of their 23 attempts (43.5%). They were able to bury 17 of them for a clip of 70.8%. BYU was called for 18 personal fouls in this game which took the Cougars to the free throw line for 24 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while recording 7 steals in this contest. The Cougars collected 22 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this matchup.

LJ Cryer pitched in for the Cougars in this matchup. He earned 23 points in his 37 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the game. He buried 7 out of 14 for this game for a rate of 50.0%, and had 4 rebounds.

Houston has a mark of 17-2 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Cougars are hitting on 43.9% from the floor, which ranks 227th in D-1. Houston has tallied 1,405 points so far this year (73.9 per game) and they snag 40.4 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 13.4 times per contest (178th in the country) and they are turning it over 9.1 times per game. The Cougars are responsible for committing 18.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 67.5% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense allows 28.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (112 of 400) and their opponents are converting on 63.6% of their free throw attempts. They give up 11.0 dimes and 32.7 total rebounds per game, which ranks 53rd and 74th in those categories. The Cougars on defense are ranked 2nd in college basketball in points allowed per game with 51.9. They are able to force 16.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 34.8% from the floor (2nd in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston

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