Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 11/30/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024

Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV

TV: truTV

MGM Grand Garden Arena is the location where the Houston Cougars (4-2) will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-2) on Saturday.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights took the court against Alabama and ended up losing by a score of 95-90 in their last game. Rutgers ended having earned a 44.6% field goal percentage (29 of 65) and converted 2 of their 13 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Scarlet Knights made 30 of 35 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 25 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 8 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 19 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In relation to defense, Rutgers allowed 51.7% from the floor on 30 of 58 shooting. Alabama earned 16 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Alabama totaled 35 rebounds (13 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Alabama finished the game shooting 69.4% at the charity stripe by converting 25 of 36 tries. They buried 10 out of their 25 attempts from three-point range. In relation to personal fouls, the Scarlet Knights ended up finishing with 26 and Alabama finished the game with 29 personal fouls.

Dylan Harper is a guy who was important for the game. He walked away with 37 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37 mins played and pulled down 2 rebounds. He went 57.9% from the floor and also totaled 2 assists.

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Rutgers will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 5-2 so far this year. They currently have an average of 82.0 pts per contest (75th in the country) while shooting 46.5% from the floor. The Scarlet Knights are connecting on 33.3% on shots from downtown (46 of 138) and 73.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Rutgers is pulling down 36.4 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 99 assists on the season, which is 166th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 9.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.4 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Scarlet Knights are forcing 13.6 turnovers per game while drawing 22.9 fouls. They are ranked 211th in D-1 in allowing assists with 91 conceded on the season. The Scarlet Knights defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 42.5% (188 of 442) and they concede 37.9 rebounds per game as a group. They are conceding 35.4% on 3-pointers while they are 257th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (74.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Houston Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 65-54 against Notre Dame. When discussing rebounding, Houston permitted Notre Dame to grab 30 overall (6 on the offensive side). They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by going 7 of 21 and ended up shooting 9 out of 14 from the free throw line (64.3%). The Cougars allowed Notre Dame to knock down 19 of their 49 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.8% for this game. Overall, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 27 for 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.0%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Houston knocked down 6 of 23 attempts (26.1%). They were able to bury 5 of the free throw tries for a rate of 55.6%. Notre Dame earned 12 personal fouls in this game which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 9 attempts. They turned it over 5 times, while earning 5 steals for the contest. The Cougars earned 20 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 26 for the game.

Emanuel Sharp ended up having an impact for the Cougars for the game. He buried 6 out of 13 in the matchup for a rate of 46.2%, and totaled 4 rebounds. He recorded 17 points in his 34 mins on the court and earned 4 assists in the game.

Houston has a mark of 4-2 this season. The Cougars are committing 17.5 personal fouls per contest and they go 72.8% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 14.3 times per game (171st in the nation) and they turn it over 8.3 times per game. Houston has tallied 482 pts so far this season (80.3 per contest) and they snag 38.0 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 45.8% from the floor, which ranks them 156th in college basketball.

The Cougars on defense are ranked 6th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 57.0. They have forced 16.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 36.6% from the floor (16th in Division 1). The Houston defense gives up 29.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (43 of 144) and their opponents are knocking down 70.8% of their free throw shots. They concede 10.3 assists and 33.5 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 52nd and 126th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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