The Houston Cougars and the Oregon Ducks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Mandalay Bay Events Center. Houston is 4-1 so far this year. The Cougars are coming off a loss to Wisconsin in their last outing. As for Oregon, they’re 3-2 following a Tuesday loss to Saint Mary’s. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Houston got off to a 4-0 start this season. The Cougars took out Hofstra 83-75 in the opener, then Rice 79-46 and Virginia 67-47. Houston kept it going in game four with a 70-52 victory over Butler.
On Tuesday against the Badgers, Houston took their first loss of the year. The Cougars fell behind 40-20 at halftime and couldn’t bridge the gap in a 65-63 defeat. Kyler Edwards led the way on 18 points with five rebounds and one assist.
Over on the Oregon side, they got off to a nice start this year with wins in their first two games over Texas Southern and SMU. After an 81-49 loss to BYU, the Ducks took out Chaminade in game four 73-49.
On Tuesday in the matchup versus Saint Mary’s, the Ducks were doomed from an ugly beginning with just 15 first-half points. Oregon got better from there but couldn’t come back in a 62-50 loss. Eric Williams led the team on 13 points with five rebounds.
PICK: I’m probably going to stick with Houston here. The Cougars had a very bad first half against a hot-shooting Wisconsin team in their last game, but nearly came back to steal the win. Houston shot well enough with 42.6 percent from the field; they just couldn’t keep up early.
As for Oregon, they got off to a rocky first half against Saint Mary’s and couldn’t adjust to the game pace. I like the Ducks to bounce back with a better effort here but I think Houston will take the cover.