The Houston Cougars will look to continue their perfect start to the season on Saturday when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Houston enters the game a perfect 9-0 thus far and ranked as the best team in the nation by the Associated Press and Coaches Poll. The game is scheduled for a 3:00 PM EST tip-off and will be broadcast by ABC.
The Cougars enter the game as an eight (-8) point favorite at the line opened at (-9). The total is currently set at 137 points after opening at 129.5.
Alabama Crimson Tide Overview
The Crimson Tide boast one of the best collections of talent in the nation, but they are incredibly young. Nate Oats’ club is led by freshman and likely lottery selection Brandon Miller at 19 points and nearly nine rebounds per game, both of which lead the team.
Ohio transfer Mark Sears is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and has really benefited from Jahvon Quinerly returning to his full-time role. Over his last two games, Sears has averaged 21.5 points per game and recorded zero turnovers in the Tide’s recent win over South Dakota State.
Turnovers have been the Achilles heel of this club so far this season which is to be expected given the amount of youth that they depend on. Quinerly’s return should help mitigate some of this, but the Tide rank 303rd in offensive turnover percentage on the season and just 308th in opponents turnover percentage.
‘Bama is currently third in the Southeastern Conference with a 4-3-1 against the spread with an average performance of +4.4 points per game against the number. Their margin of victory is middle of the pack in the SEC at 15.0 points per game. The total has gone over in four of their last five games.
Houston Cougars Overview
The Cougars are closing out the fifth week of the season and second as the highest-ranked team in the nation. Thus far, Kelvin Sampson’s team has looked every bit the part, playing fantastic defense.
Houston has held every opponent they have faced this season to 56 points per less. This, combined with their 21st most efficient offense in college basketball, has led to a 7-2 record against the number on the season. They are outperforming the number by +6.2 points per game which ranks within the top 25 in the nation.
Marcus Sasser was questionable for this game after a scary-looking eye injury in the North Florida game. He played just eight minutes in the game before suffering a gash that pushed him out of the contest.
The Cougars were still able to blow out the Ospreys by 34 points. Reports indicate that Sasser will play in this game so expect Sampson’s team to be running at full strength.
Game Pick
Every team that Houston has faced has struggled offensively, including some very good clubs like Oregon, Saint Mary’s, and Kent State. That said, they have not faced an offense such as Alabama’s nor a talent such as Miller.
Both teams are ranked in the top 22 of adjusted offensive efficiency and the top six in offensive rebounding percentage. Where they differ drastically is in the turnover department.
Houston is the ninth-best team in the nation in defensive turnover percentage, while Alabama is (as mentioned above) 303rd in offensive turnover percentage. The Tide also do not force many turnover, while the Cougars’ offense is reluctant to surrender them.
Bama’ has the offensive firepower to cover the number, but Houston has the defense and experience to get the win and keep the score under 137.
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