Houston Cougars vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 2/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Location: McKale Center in Raleigh, NC

TV: ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (20-4) are on their way to McKale Center on Saturday where they will take on the Arizona Wildcats (17-7).

The Houston Cougars played Baylor and earned the victory with a final of 76-65 in their last contest. When discussing personal fouls, the Cougars ended up with 16 while Baylor recorded 17 personal fouls. They made 9 of their 15 shots from distance. Baylor finished the game shooting 75.0% from the free throw line by converting 12 of their 16 attempts. Additionally, Baylor snagged 17 rebounds (4 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Baylor dished out 10 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. In relation to defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 57.9% from the field on 22 out of 38 shooting. They also distributed 17 dimes for this game as well as creating 15 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 21 with 8 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Cougars buried 12 of their 16 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. Houston walked away from the game with a 50.9% field goal percentage (27 of 53) and converted 10 of their 24 3-point shots.

LJ Cryer is a player who came through for the contest. He notched 14 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins played and snagged 1 board. He shot 45.5% from the floor and also dished out 3 dimes.

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Houston comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 20-4 for the year. They are averaging 75.8 points per game (140th in Division 1) while shooting 46.1% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 39.4% on three-point shots (197 of 500) and 72.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Houston is pulling in 37.4 boards per game and is sitting with 317 assists this year, which is 243rd in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 9.1 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Cougars have forced 14.4 turnovers per game while drawing 16.0 fouls. They surrender 31.9% on 3-point attempts and they rank 1st in college hoops in points per game allowed (57.3). The Cougars defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 38.2% (461 of 1,208) and they concede 30.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 22nd in college in allowing assists with 256 surrendered for the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Arizona Wildcats took a loss by a score of 73-70 when they faced Kansas State. In the matter of attacking the glass, Arizona allowed Kansas State to snag 30 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 5.3% from distance by shooting 1 out of 19 and finished the contest at 16 of 26 from the charity stripe (61.5%). The Wildcats permitted Kansas State to make 28 out of their 62 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.2% for the matchup. Overall, the Wildcats went 26 for 63 from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.3%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Arizona made 2 out of 22 tries (9.1%). They were able to make 16 of those for a clip of 84.2%. Kansas State was called for 15 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for 19 attempts. They also turned it over 17 times, while recording 7 steals for the matchup. The Wildcats snagged 32 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 42 for the contest.

KJ Lewis was important for the Wildcats for this game. He made 6 of 12 for the game for a rate of 50.0%, and had 8 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and had 2 assists for this contest.

Arizona has a record of 17-7 for the campaign. The Wildcats commit 16.2 fouls per game while shooting 77.2% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 17.0 times per game (19th in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.9 times per game. Arizona has accumulated 1,975 points for the campaign (82.3 per game) and they snag 40.9 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are shooting 47.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 60th in the nation.

The Arizona defense gives up 31.6% on three-point shots (200 of 632) and opponents are making 69.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.2 assists and 32.8 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 181st and 89th in college. The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 125th in college in points per game surrendered with 69.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.2% from the field (30th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Arizona

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