NCAA Tournament: Houston vs UAB 3/18/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Houston Cougars and UAB Blazers do battle Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the PPG Paints Arena. The UAB Blazers look to build on their seven-game winning streak. The Houston Cougars look for a win after winning nine of their last 10 games.

The UAB Blazers are averaging 80 points on 46.8 percent shooting and allowing 65.1 points on 41.4 percent shooting. Jordan Walker is averaging 20.4 points and 2.8 rebounds, while Quan Jackson is averaging 12 points and 5.9 rebounds. Michael Ertel is the third double-digit scorer and KJ Buffen is grabbing 6.7 rebounds. The UAB Blazers are shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and 73 percent from the free throw line. The UAB Blazers are allowing 33.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35 rebounds per game.

The Houston Cougars are averaging 75.9 points on 46.7 percent shooting and allowing 58.9 points on 37.2 percent shooting. Marcus Sasser is averaging 17.7 points 2.8 rebounds, while Kyler Edwards is averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. Fabian White Jr. is the third double-digit scorer and Josh Carlton is grabbing 6.5 rebounds. The Houston Cougars are shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc and 66.3 percent from the free throw line. The Houston Cougars are allowing 29.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36.7 rebounds per game.

The Blazers are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 neutral site games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 Friday games. The Cougars are 23-9 ATS in their last 32 neutral site games and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The over is 18-7-1 in Blazers last 26 overall. The under is 5-1-1 in Cougars last 7 overall. The favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The Houston Cougars are the better, more balanced team and probably should win this game. However, UAB is playing its best ball of the season right now, and that offense has picked things up tremendously during this winning streak. Also, Jordan Walker is one of those players who the public may not be aware of, but is capable of taking over a game and pulling off an upset or two. UAB can hang here based on its current form. Give me the points.