Free College Basketball Picks Today: Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs Houston Cougars 12/28/22

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-7) welcome the No. 3 Houston Cougars (12-1) on Wednesday to kick off American Athletic Conference play. Houston blew out the McNeese State Cowboys 83-44 at Fertitta Center on Wednesday, their third consecutive win.

Ja’Vier Francis had a standout performance with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Tulsa came up short on Wednesday at Albert Gersten Pavilion, falling to the Loyola Marymount Lions 76-64. Sam Griffin scored 13 points to top the scoresheet in defeat.

The teams are meeting for the only time this season. Houston triumphed in the only game between the teams last season 66-64 at Donald Reynolds Center on January 15. Kyler Edwards led the Cougars with 29 points. Jeriah Horne had 24 points in defeat. Marcus Sasser is averaging 16.0 points per game to lead the Cougars in scoring this season.

Meanwhile, J’Wan Roberts is grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game, and Jamal Shead is dishing 5.8 assists. Griffin (15.0 ppg) has supplied much of the Golden Hurricane’s offense. Bryant Selebangue is collecting 8.0 rebounds per game, and Anthony Pritchard is doling out 3.5 assists.

The Cougars rank as the stingiest scoring defense in the nation with 49.8 points per game allowed. In the last 10 games, Houston is 9-1 with an average margin of +20.6 (71.8-51.2). Tulsa has a 4-6 record over the last 10, allowing 71.5 points per game on average while scoring only 68.9 (-2.6 margin).

COUGARS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Ja’Vier Francis: 18.2 | 12.0 | +6.2
Terrance Arceneaux: 6.2 | 9.4 | -3.2
Points per game:
J’Wan Roberts: 6.6 | 8.9 | -2.3
Rebounds per game:
Ja’Vier Francis: 6.4 | 4.8 | +1.6
Assists per game:
Marcus Sasser: 1.8 | 2.6 | -0.8