Houston Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 1/25/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025

Location: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS

TV: ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (14-3) are hitting the road to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday where they will play the Kansas Jayhawks (13-4).

The Houston Cougars faced UCF and notched a win by a score of 69-68 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Cougars ended up with 20 while UCF had 14 fouls. They buried 7 of 23 attempts from 3-point land. UCF ended up shooting 64.7% from the free throw line by making 11 of their 17 shots. In addition, UCF snagged 35 rebounds (13 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. UCF earned 11 assists and had 1 steal for this game. When talking about the defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 40.3% from the field on 25 out of 62 shooting. They also dished out 8 assists in this matchup as well as forcing 13 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In terms of rebounding, they earned 38 with 16 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 8 of their 11 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Houston finished the game having earned a 42.0% FG percentage (29 of 69) and buried 3 of their 16 3-point shots.

J'Wan Roberts is a player who came through in the matchup. He accounted for 21 points on 10 of 17 shooting. He played for 36 mins and totaled 9 boards. He shot 58.8% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

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Houston enters this game with a mark of 14-3 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 9.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Houston is collecting 38.2 rebounds per game and has accumulated 223 dimes so far this year, which is 307th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Cougars are hitting 40.5% on shots from distance (148 of 365) and 74.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 76.2 points per outing (153rd in college hoops) while connecting on 45.9% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Cougars have forced 14.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 10th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 171 conceded for the year. The Cougars defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 35.6% (309 of 869) and they surrender 31.4 rebounds per game as a team. They are surrendering 29.8% from 3-point land while they are 1st in D-1 in PPG allowed (55.0).

In their last game, the Kansas Jayhawks took home the win by a final score of 84-74 when they played Kansas State. The Jayhawks pulled down 22 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 33 for this game. They also gave up possession 9 times, while getting 1 steal in the matchup. Kansas State was called for 17 fouls in this game which took the Jayhawks to the charity stripe for 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of them for a rate of 76.2%. Pertaining to shots from downtown, Kansas converted 6 of 16 attempts (37.5%). In all, the Jayhawks finished the game shooting 31 for 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.4%. The Jayhawks permitted Kansas State to convert 27 of their 59 tries from the field which left them shooting 45.8% in this game. They went 23.1% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 6 out of 26 and finished the game at 14 out of 19 from the free throw line (73.7%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Kansas permitted Kansas State to get 23 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Hunter Dickinson ended up having an impact for the Jayhawks in this matchup. He converted 12 of 19 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 63.2%, and added 8 rebounds. He totaled 25 points in his 34 mins on the hardwood and had 3 assists for the game.

Kansas has a record of 13-4 for the year. The Jayhawks are responsible for committing 13.8 personal fouls every game and they go 73.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 18.0 times per contest (12th in the country) and they turn it over 10.5 times per game. Kansas has accumulated 1,300 points on the season (76.5 per game) and they pull in 39.2 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Jayhawks are shooting 47.8% from the floor, which ranks 52nd in the country.

The Kansas defense gives up 29.1% on shots from beyond the arc (116 of 399) and their opposition knocks down 73.5% of their free throw shots. They give up 12.0 dimes and 33.2 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 94th and 118th in the country. The Jayhawks on defense are ranked 16th in the country in points given up per game with 63.5. They are forcing 11.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 37.6% from the field (9th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas

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