Utah Utes vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs Houston Cougars

Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (14-3) host the Utah Utes (11-6) at Fertitta Center on Tuesday.

The Utah Utes faced BYU and notched a win by a score of 73-72 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Utes left the arena with 17 and BYU had 26 personal fouls. They also made 8 out of their 30 tries from downtown. BYU walked away from this one shooting 40.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 4 of 10 shots. On top of that, BYU pulled down 37 boards (13 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. BYU doled out 16 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. In relation to defense, Utah let their opponent shoot 38.5% from the field on 30 of 78 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists for this game while forcing 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. Concerning grabbing boards, they collected 37 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Utes converted 17 of their 32 shots for a percentage of 53.1%. Utah walked away from the game having earned a 44.6% field goal percentage (25 out of 56) and buried 6 of their 23 shots from downtown.

Ezra Ausar is one player who was a major contributor for the contest. He accounted for 26 points on 11 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 31 minutes and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He finished shooting 73.3% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists.

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Utah comes into this game with a record of 11-6 this year. They average 80.2 pts per contest (65th in D-1) while connecting on 46.8% from the floor. The Utes are connecting on 34.5% on three-point attempts (158 of 458) and 63.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Utah is grabbing 40.6 rebounds per game and has earned 339 assists on the season, which is 5th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.7 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Utes are able to force 11.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.4 fouls. They are currently ranked 80th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 213 relinquished so far this year. The Utes are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.8% (417 of 1,049) and they relinquish 35.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 31.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 135th in college hoops in opponents points per game (70.0).

The last time they took the court, the Houston Cougars took home the win by a final score of 69-68 against UCF. With respect to how they attacked the glass, Houston permitted UCF to snag 35 in all (13 on the offensive glass). They finished 30.4% from distance by going 7 of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 17 from the free throw line (64.7%). The Cougars permitted UCF to make 25 out of 62 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.3% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cougars went 29 for 69 from the floor which had them sitting at 42.0%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Houston made 3 of their 16 attempts (18.8%). They were able to bury 8 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 72.7%. UCF was called for 14 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 11 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 3 steals in the game. The Cougars pulled down 22 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this contest.

J'Wan Roberts pitched in for the Cougars in this game. He racked up 21 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and earned 1 assist for the game. He converted 10 of 17 for this game giving him a rate of 58.8%, and accumulated 9 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 14-3 this season. The Cougars are committing 16.6 fouls per contest while shooting 74.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.1 times per game (242nd in Division 1) and they turn it over 9.2 times per game. Houston has earned 1,295 points on the season (76.2 per game) and they collect 38.2 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Cougars are hitting on 45.9% from the field, which is ranked 135th in the country.

The Houston defense concedes 29.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (114 of 382) and their opposition knocks down 69.3% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 10.1 assists and 31.4 boards per contest, which ranks them 18th and 34th in the country. The Cougars are ranked 1st in college in points allowed per contest with 55.0. They are able to force 14.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 35.6% 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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