Houston Cougars vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/24/2022

Game Time: 9:59 pm ET, Thursday, March 24, 2022

Venue:  AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

Where to Watch:  TBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Houston +1.5, Arizona -1.5; Over/Under:  145 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Houston +1.5, Arizona -1.5; Over/Under:  145.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Houston +1.5, Arizona -1.5; Over/Under:  145.5 points

 

Houston Cougars:  31-5 (1st place, AAC)

Arizona Wildcats:  33-3 (1st place, Pac-12)

 

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Houston Cougars:  5-0 last 5

Arizona Wildcats:  5-0 last 5

 

 

 

Houston is coming into this game with a 31-5 record overall and they are 8-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 11 of their last 12 games and are coming into this one on a 5 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Memphis Tigers while their 5 wins since then have come against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Tulane Green Wave, Memphis, the UAB Blazers, and the Illinois Fighting Illini in their last game. Taze Moore led the team in points in that game with 21 while Jamal Shead was next on the team with 18 points. Kyler Edwards led the team in assists in that game with 4 while Moore and Fabian White Jr. both led the team in rebounds with 7 each. They were 42.4% from the field, 27.3% from 3-point range, and 70.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 75.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 59 PPG against them. Houston has an ATS record of 24-12 this season and their O/U record is 16-20.

 

 

Arizona is coming into this game with a 33-3 record overall and they are 7-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 17 of their last 18 games and are coming into this one on an 8 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Colorado Buffaloes while their last 5 wins came against the Stanford Cardinal, Colorado, the UCLA Bruins, the Wright State Raiders, and the TCU Horned Frogs in their last game. Bennedict Mathurin led the team in points in that game with 30 while Christian Koloko was next on the team with 28 points. Dalen Terry led the team in assists in that game with 5 while Koloko led the team in rebounds with 12. They were 45.6% from the field, 18.5% from 3-point range, and 72% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 84.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 67.9 PPG against them. Arizona has an ATS record of 19-15-2 this season and their O/U record is 21-15.

 

Arizona is coming into this game as a 1.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Arizona has been playing very well in their recent games and they are coming into this game as one of the few conference champions and conference tourney winners this season. They are coming into this game winning 8 straight and they have been smashing a lot of their opponents by double digits in that span. They blew by Wright State in round 1 but they had a lot more trouble with TCU in round 2. Even when they were down late with a few seconds left, they still rallied and fought their way back forcing OT and winning the game there showing their resilience as a team. They are a force to be reckoned with here that could even end up in the finals of this tourney but they are going up against a Houston side that has also been playing very well recently. Houston also won their conference and their conference tourney but they are only coming into this game winning 5 straight. They have also played weaker opponents in that span and they played in a weaker conference altogether during the season. Houston still has one of the best teams in the nation right now but Arizona played in a much tougher conference with better teams all season and they only have 3 losses all season long. Arizona is the better team here and they will find a way to take the lead in this game and win it advancing to the next round. Arizona will win this game and cover the spread here.

 

Houston Arizona Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 24, 2022 (9:59 pm ET start time) is Arizona 83 Houston 76.

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Houston Cougars: 24-12 ATS in all games. 16-5 ATS in all neutral court games. 19-10 OVER as a neutral court underdog or pick.

Arizona Wildcats: 19-26 ATS after playing 5 consecutive games as favorite. 21-14 OVER in all games. 13-5 OVER when the total is 140 to 149.5.

 

 

Houston Cougars:  T. Mark (G) out for season - Shoulder injury. M. Sasser (G) out for season - Toe injury. K. Powell (C) out for season - Redshirt.

Arizona Wildcats:  None.

 

 

"We got a brand-new bunch. But the culture never changes. Because they're great kids and they're high-character kids, they buy in. It's never about them. Our program is always about we and us, and that's what happens when you have great kids." - Kelvin Sampson after his team’s win against Illinois in the last round.

 

 

"My coaches were getting on me for not getting enough rebounds. I was pretty happy about getting the offensive rebound. So I just went out there and got the rebound, made it. And I was emotional." - Bennedict Mathurin after their win against TCU in the last round.

 

 

 

J. Carlton 

Kyler Edwards 

T. Moore

J. Shead 

F. White

 

Christian Koloko 

K. Kriisa 

B. Mathurin 

D. Terry 

A. Tubelis

 

 

PPG: M. Sasser (17.7)

APG: J. Shead (5.9)

Reb/G: J. Carlton (6.6)

 

PPG: B. Mathurin (17.3)

APG: K. Kriisa (4.9)

Reb/G: C. Koloko (7)

 

Coaches:

Houston Cougars: Kelvin Sampson (8th season)

Arizona Wildcats: Tommy Lloyd (1st season)