The Houston Cougars and the Arkansas Razorbacks meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Prudential Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Houston Cougars vs. Arkansas Razorbacks prediction.
Houston Cougars Recap
The Houston Cougars come into this game looking to add on to their 99-57 win over New Orleans last time out to sit at 10-1 on the year. After this game, Houston will head home for a game against Middle Tennessee.
Cougars Win 4 In A Row
Emanuel Sharp leads the Cougars in scoring with 17.2 PPG along with 3 RPG and 2.1 APG while Kingston Flemings has 14.8 PPG with 3.3 RPG up to this point in the year. Milos Uzan has 11.2 PPG with 3.2 RPG and a team-high 5.1 APG to lead Houston in assists and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Houston so far this season. Chris Cenac Jr. has 9.5 PPG with 7.5 RPG to lead Houston in rebounding and Joseph Tugler has 7.4 PPG with 5 RPG this season. As a team, Houston is averaging 78.2 PPG on 45.1% shooting from the field, 34.3% from three and 75% from the foul line this season.
Why the Houston Cougars will win
- Houston has won each of its last 19 December games as an AP-ranked team.
- Arkansas has lost six of its last seven night games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
Arkansas Razorbacks Recap
The Arkansas Razorbacks come into this game looking to add on to their 108-80 win over Queens last tie out to sit at 9-2 this season. After this game, Arkansas will take on James Madison at home.
Razorbacks Win 4 In A Row
Darius Acuff Jr. leads Arkansas in scoring and assists with 17.4 PPG and 5.4 APG in addition to 3 RPG while Meleek Thomas has 16.9 PPG with 4.2 RPG and 3.1 APG this season. Trevon Brazile has 12.6 PPG with a team-high 7.1 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Arkansas so far this season As Arkansas’ top rebounder. D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox each have 8.4 PPG with Wagner logging 3 APG and Knox chipping in 5.5 RPG and Malique Ewin has 8.1 PPG with 3.8 RPG. As a team, Arkansas is averaging 87.6 PPG on 47.4% shooting from the field, 35.5% from three and 78.3% from the foul line this season.
Why the Arkansas Razorbacks will win
- Arkansas has won 10 of its last 11 December games as an AP-ranked team.
- Houston has lost six of its last eight games as a top-15 AP-ranked team against a top-15 AP-ranked team at neutral venues.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Arkansas’ last seven night games have produced a total of 149+ points.
- Twenty-four of Houston’s last 27 night games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 143 or fewer points.
Houston Cougars vs. Arkansas Razorbacks Prediction
I’m on the Cougars here. I just don’t think that this fairly young Arkansas team is going to be able to handle the physicality the Cougars bring to the table, and while the Cougars haven’t necessarily brought their A-game since day one, they’ve been starting to ratchet up the pressure in recent games and this is more of the Houston I’ve become accustomed to seeing in recent years. All in all, I think the Hogs get crushed here so give me Houston.