Free College Basketball Picks Today: Houston Cougars vs Memphis Tigers 3/12/23

The Houston Cougars (31-2, 19-1 AAC) face off against the Memphis Tigers (25-8, 15-5 AAC) Sunday at Dickies Arena in the American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. Memphis dismantled the Tulane Green Wave 94-54 at Dickies Arena yesterday in the semifinals.

With 27 points and 11 rebounds, DeAndre Williams was a top performer. Houston won their 13th in a row in dominant fashion in the semifinals yesterday at Dickies Arena, beating the Cincinnati Bearcats 69-48. Jamal Shead had 16 points and nine assists, leading the team.

Houston swept the season series against Memphis, earning the win in both of their meetings, the most recent of which was a 67-65 victory at FedExForum on Sunday, their third straight head-to-head victory. Kendric Davis topped all players in scoring with 26 points in defeat. Tramon Mark had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars.

Davis is averaging 21.8 points per game, ninth-highest in the country, to lead the Tigers in scoring this season. Davis also has dished 5.7 assists per game.

Meanwhile, Williams is grabbing 7.9 rebounds. Marcus Sasser (17.1 ppg) has powered the Cougars on offense. J’Wan Roberts is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game, and Shead is doling out 5.5 assists.

With 79.9 points per game, the Tigers are one of the top scoring offenses in the nation (20th). In the last 10 games, Memphis is 8-2 with an average margin of +9.0 (79.3-70.3).

Houston has won each of the last 10 amid the team’s 13-game win streak, scoring 75.7 points per game on average while allowing 57.7 (+18.0 margin).

TIGERS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Damaria Franklin: 9.8 | 6.6 | +3.2
Keonte Kennedy: 0.0 | 9.6 | -9.6
Points per game:
Keonte Kennedy: 0.0 | 7.0 | -7.0

COUGARS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Ja’Vier Francis: 3.8 | 8.4 | -4.6
Points per game:
Jamal Shead: 14.6 | 10.2 | +4.4