UTRGV vs Sam Houston State 2/19/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Sam Houston Bearkats will travel to UTRGV Fieldhouse to take on the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros this Saturday night in College Basketball action.

The Sam Houston Bearkats won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 16-11 on the season after defeating the Abilene Christian Wildcats, 75-71 (OT), this past Thursday. Sam Houston was able to force OT on a Savion Flagg game-tying three-pointer with :02 seconds left in regulation and was able to take the lead for good on a Savion Flagg jumper with :23 seconds left in OT. Sam Houston shot 45.0% from the field & 27.8% from beyond the arc while holding Abilene Christian to just 36.1% shooting from the field. & 16.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bearkats was Savion Flagg who had 20 points, 7 rebounds, & 4 assists.

On the season, Sam Houston is averaging 70.3 ppg on 42.8% shooting from the field. The Bearkats are averaging 9.1 three-pointers per game on 35.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Sam Houston has been led by Savion Flagg (19.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 apg), Demarkus Lampley (10.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 apg), Jaden Ray (8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg), & Tristan Ikpe (6.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Sam Houston is allowing their opponents to an average of 76.4 ppg on 44.9% shooting from the field. The Bearkats have a rebound margin of -0.8 and a turnover margin of 0.2.

The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 7-19 on the season after being defeated by the Seattle U Redhawks, 102-62, this past Wednesday. UT Rio Grande Valley had no answers on the defensive end against the Seattle U offensive attack and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 56-31 lead. UT Rio Grande Valley shot 35.7% from the field & 30.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Seattle to shoot 50.0% form the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Vaqueros was Marek Nelson who had 18 points, 5 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, UT Rio Grande Valley is averaging 72.3 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field. The Vaqueros are averaging 6.6 three-pointers per game on 31.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UT Rio Grande Valley has been led by Justin Johnson (18.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.4 apg), Marek Nelson (10.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg), Mike Adewunmi (8.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg), & Ricky Nelson (7.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.5 apg).

Defensively, UT Rio Grande Valley is allowing their opponents to average 79.1 ppg on 44.3% shooting from the field. The Vaqueros have a rebound margin of -4.6 and a turnover margin of -2.5.

The Bearkats are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400 & 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The Vaqueros are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a ATS loss, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.

Sam Houston is just 4-6 on the road this season, however, the Bearkats are no question the better team and has been outstanding defensively this season ranking 43^rd in scoring defense & 47^th in defensive FG%. UT Rio Grande Valley has struggled on both ends of the court this season, ranking just 153^rd in scoring offense & 343^rd in defensive FG%, and as I just don’t see the Vaqueros being able to keep this one close after losing by 40-points to Seattle U in their last game, I’m taking Sam Houston to cover this mid-range road spread. Good luck!