BYU Cougars vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Fertitta Center is where the Houston Cougars (9-3) will try to defeat the BYU Cougars (10-2) on Saturday.

The BYU Cougars played Arizona State and walked away with a win by a score of 76-56 in their last contest. BYU ended the game with a 48.3% field goal percentage (28 of 58) and buried 10 of their 32 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Cougars knocked down 10 of 14 tries for a rate of 71.4%. With respect to getting rebounds, they earned 35 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 17 dimes in the game as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In terms of the defense, BYU allowed the other team to shoot 36.8% from the floor on 21 of 57 shooting. Arizona State dished out 11 assists and had 10 steals for the game. In addition, Arizona State had 25 rebounds (10 offensive, 15 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Arizona State ended up shooting 80.0% at the charity stripe by burying 8 of 10 shots. They also knocked down 6 of their 29 attempts from 3-point land. Concerning fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 11 and Arizona State totaled 14 fouls.

Richie Saunders is a guy who came through in the game. He finished 61.1% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He saw the court for 30 mins and also pulled down 6 boards. He was able to score 30 points on 11 out of 18 shooting.

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BYU steps onto the court with a mark of 10-2 for the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 14.8 personal fouls every game. As a unit, BYU is pulling down 41.8 boards per game and is sitting with 215 dimes this season, which is 97th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Cougars are hitting 36.4% on three-point attempts (134 of 368) and 69.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 84.8 pts per contest (25th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.6% from the field.

On defense, the Cougars are able to force 13.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.7% on 3-point attempts while they are 33rd in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (64.0). The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.4% (267 of 661) and they surrender 28.7 boards per game as a team. They rank 57th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 145 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 60-47 against Oklahoma State. When it comes to rebounding, Houston allowed Oklahoma State to get 32 in all (7 on the offensive side). They went 21.1% from 3-point land via 4 out of 19 and finished the game at 15 out of 18 from the charity stripe (83.3%). The Cougars allowed Oklahoma State to make 14 of 54 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 25.9% for the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 24 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. Concerning shots from downtown, Houston converted 6 out of 20 attempts (30.0%). They were able to make 6 of those for a percentage of 100.0%. Oklahoma State was called for 10 fouls in the game which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 6 shots. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals in this game. The Cougars earned 27 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for the matchup.

J'Wan Roberts was important for the Cougars for this contest. He earned 20 points in his 32 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist for the contest. He knocked down 9 out of 13 for the game giving him a rate of 69.2%, and had 11 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 9-3 so far this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are connecting on 45.3% from the floor, which ranks them 179th in the country. Houston has earned 918 pts for the campaign (76.5 per game) and they grab 38.9 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 13.5 times per game (232nd in the country) and they turn the ball over 9.6 times per game. The Cougars have committed 17.3 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 75.6% from the charity stripe.

The Houston defense surrenders 28.4% from downtown (77 of 271) and opponents are converting on 70.7% of their foul shots. They give up 9.7 assists and 33.3 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 15th and 131st in college hoops. The Cougars are ranked 1st in the country in PPG allowed with 54.6. They are forcing 14.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 33.4% from the field (1st in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston

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