Longwood Lancers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Longwood Lancers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

Location: FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Longwood (+20)

FedEx Forum is the location where the Houston Cougars (30-4) will play the Longwood Lancers (21-13) on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. Houston opens as 20-point favorites. The over/under is set at 127.

The Longwood Lancers played UNC Asheville and took home the win by a score of 85-59 in their last game. Longwood walked away from the contest having earned a 59.6% field goal percentage (31 out of 52) and buried 7 of their 13 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Lancers made 16 of 23 tries for a rate of 69.6%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 31 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists for the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When it comes to defense, Longwood allowed the other team to go 38.2% from the field on 21 out of 55 shooting. UNC Asheville distributed 14 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. Furthermore, UNC Asheville grabbed 24 boards (9 offensive, 15 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UNC Asheville shot 85.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 12 of their 14 shots. They knocked down 5 of their 22 shots from downtown. In reference to fouls, the Lancers finished with 16 while UNC Asheville recorded 17 fouls.

Michael Christmas is a guy who came through for this contest. He ended up going 60.0% from the field and also recorded 2 assists. He was on the court for 29 mins played and totaled 4 rebounds. He walked away with 18 points on 6 out of 10 shooting.

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Longwood will enter this game with a win-loss record of 21-13 for the campaign. They are turning it over 12.5 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Longwood is collecting 39.0 rebounds per game and has 437 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 156th in the country in terms of passing. The Lancers are shooting 34.3% on 3-point shots (198 of 577) and 68.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 75.6 points per contest (117th in Division 1) while shooting 45.6% from the field.

On defense, the Lancers are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.6 personal fouls. They give up 34.3% on shots from distance and they are 70th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.9). The Lancers defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.6% (806 of 1,849) and they concede 29.8 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 131st in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 400 relinquished so far this year.

In their last game, the Houston Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 69-41 against Iowa State. Concerning cleaning the glass, Houston permitted Iowa State to grab 34 overall (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.9% from 3-point land via 9 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 17 from the charity stripe (58.8%). The Cougars allowed Iowa State to convert 25 out of their 50 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 50.0% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 26.8%. When it comes to shooting from distance, Houston made 4 of their 22 tries (18.2%). They were able to make 7 of those for a percentage of 87.5%. Iowa State had 11 fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 6 steals in the matchup. The Cougars snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 33 for the contest.

Jamal Shead was important for the Cougars in this game. He accumulated 10 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and added 3 assists in the matchup. He buried 3 of 17 for the contest for a field goal rate of 17.6%, and tallied 2 rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss record of 30-4 this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 43.4% from the floor, which ranks them 254th in D-1. Houston has scored 2,483 points for the year (73.0 per contest) and they pull in 37.6 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.9 times per contest (194th in the nation) and they are turning it over 8.9 times per game. The Cougars commit 17.8 fouls per game and they go 69.4% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars are ranked 1st in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 57.0. They are able to force 15.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.9% from the floor (1st in the country). The Houston defense surrenders 30.0% on shots from beyond the arc (208 of 694) and their opposition makes 67.0% of their foul shots. They have conceded 11.4 dimes and 33.8 rebounds per game, ranking them 62nd and 133rd in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Longwood (+20)

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