The North Florida Ospreys and the Houston Cougars meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Hofheinz Pavilion. North Florida comes into this one at 2-5 overall following a Saturday loss to High Point. As for Houston, they’re sitting at 8-0 this year. The Cougars beat Saint Mary’s in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
North Florida went 2-4 over their first six games this year, beating SC State and Trinity Baptist with losses otherwise to Gonzaga, Washington, Kentucky and Duquesne. In game seven the Ospreys took another loss, this time to High Point.
In the Saturday matchup versus High Point, North Florida had a 47-47 tie going into the break. The Ospreys were outscored 46-41 from there and lost 93-88. Leading team scorer Carter Hendricksen doubled up on 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Over on the Houston side, it’s been smooth sailing (with a close finish or two) so far this year. The Cougars have taken out Northern Colorado, Saint Joseph’s, Oral Roberts, Texas Southern, Oregon, Kent State, Norfolk State and Saint Mary’s in succession over their first eight games.
Matched up against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Houston took a 31-20 lead into the break. The Cougars were outscored 28-22 in the second but hung on for the 53-48 win. J’wan Roberts led the team on 15 points with eight rebounds.
PICK: I’ll probably stick with Houston here. Also probably not going near it, though. The line’s a little too thick to mess with. The Cougars put up something of an ugly win over a pretty good Saint Mary’s team in their last game, shooting a tepid 36.8 percent from the field and 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from 3-point range. The Cougars were out-rebounded 36-27 (11-10 offensive) but had just five turnovers to the Gaels’ 17. Houston has scored 66 points or fewer in three of their last four games, but they’ve also held opponents to 56 or fewer points in all four of those as well. North Florida almost certainly won’t be able to hang around with the Cougars, so the only question here is margin of victory.