The West Virginia Mountaineers and the Houston Cougars meet Wednesday in college basketball action from the Fertitta Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Houston vs West Virginia Prediction.
West Virginia Recap
The West Virginia Mountaineers come into this game looking to build on a 78-70 win over Colorado last time out to improve to 12-3 on the year. After this game, West Virginia will head home for a game against Iowa State.
Mountaineers Win 8th Of Last 9
Javon Small leads the Mountaineers in scoring and assists with 19.8 PPG and 5 APG along with 5.3 RPG and 1.8 SPG while Tucker DeVries has 14.9 PPG with 4.9 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for West Virginia so far this season. Amani Hansberry has 9.6 PPG with a team-high 5.9 RPG to lead the Mountaineers in rebounding and Jonathan Powell has 9.3 PPG while Toby Okani also has 8.1 PPG with 4.3 RPG on the year. As a team, West Virginia is averaging 74.5 PPG on 43.6% shooting from the field, 34.6% from three, and 75.4% from the foul line this season.
Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win
- West Virginia has won eight of its last nine games.
Houston Recap
The Houston Cougars come into this game looking to keep their momentum going after an 87-57 win over Kansas State last time out to improve to 12-3 on the year as well. After this game, Houston will head on the road for a game against UCF.
Cougars Win 8th Straight
L.J. Cryer leads the Cougars in scoring with 14.1 PPG while Emanuel Sharp has 14.1 PPG with 2.9 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Houston up to this point in the year. Terrance Arceneaux has 9.1 PPG with 3.4 RPG and Milos Uzan has added 8.9 PPG with 3.2 RPG and a team-high 4.9 APG to lead Houston in assists. J’Wan Roberts has 8.9 PPG with a team-high 6.7 RPG to lead the Cougars on the glass up to this point in the year while Joseph Tugler added 6.3 PPG and 6 RPG. As a team, Houston’s averaging 77.1 PPG on 46.1% shooting from the field, 41.5% from three, and 74% from the foul line this season.
Why the Houston Cougars will win
- Houston has won each of its last 53 night games at Fertitta Center.
- West Virginia has lost seven of its last eight night games against the Big 12 Conference.
Total Points Facts
- Each of West Virginia’s last 46 night games against the Big 12 Conference has produced a total of 127+ points.
- Four of Houston’s last five night games have produced a total of 119 or fewer points.
Houston vs West Virginia Prediction
I’m with Houston here. I just think that while Darian Devries has done a fantastic job early on with where West Virginia is headed, this is still a Mountaineers team that’s going to struggle in spots where they’re really tested. We saw the struggle occur against Arizona, and I think we’re going to see it again here against a Houston team that’s still one of the premier defensive units in college basketball that has shut down better than what they’re up against in this game. I look for the Cougars to beat the Mountaineers here and win this game by 20+. Give me Houston in this one.