No. 12 Houston could clinch no worse than a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a win over SMU on Thursday night and some help from UCF vs. Cincinnati also Thursday. Houston and Cincinnati close the season on Sunday – first things first, UH is a big Mybookie.ag favorite over the Mustangs.
How to Bet SMU vs Houston NCAAB Odds & Game Info
SENIOR TRIBUTE – Not enough room to write about everything @g_robinson1 has done & how important he has been to our family
JOIN US for SENIOR NIGHT in Fertitta Center as we celebrate Galen’s career… Senior Night ceremony begins around 7:35 pm THURSDAY #ForTheCity #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/ENkFuoKiIF — Houston Men’s Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) 7 de marzo de 2019
- When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
- Where: Fertitta Center
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- NCAAB: Houston -12.5 (Total 134)
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Season Series
Houston looks for the sweep as it won 69-58 at SMU on Jan. 16. Corey Davis scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime, when he made his first seven shots, and UH led throughout. Armoni Brooks added 19 points for the Cougars, He made five 3-pointers, including a long, straightaway, contested one just before the break for a 31-22 halftime lead. Jimmy Whitt Jr. had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting for SMU, which played most of the game without Jarrey Foster after the senior guard took a fall about four minutes into the game. Foster is the only scholarship player who has played at SMU more than one season.
Why Bet on SMU?
The Mustangs have lost three straight and eight of nine following a 67-55 setback to Wichita State on Sunday in SMU’s home finale. Feron Hunt had a career-high 14 points for the Mustangs (13-15, 5-11). Jahmal McMurray added 13 points. Ethan Chargois had 13 points and eight rebounds.
McMurray has made 87 threes this season, second all-time at SMU. McMurray has 10 games with 20+ points this season. He is averaging 17.8 points (5th AAC) while hitting 37.8% on threes (8th AAC). His 3.1 made threes per game are 2nd in the AAC and 33rd in the NCAA. He has made 87 3FGs so far this season (2nd at SMU). The program record is 97 in a season by Robert Nyakundi in 2010-11.
The Mustangs missed guard Jimmy Whitt Jr., who was out with a shoulder injury. He’s averaging 12.0 points (T-2nd SMU, 25th AAC), 6.6 rebounds (1st SMU, 8th AAC), 4.4 defensive rebounds (1st SMU, 11th AAC), 2.2 offensive rebounds (T-1st SMU, T-10th AAC), 4.1 assists (1st SMU, 6th AAC) and 1.4 steals (1st SMU, 10th AAC). Whitt Jr.’s triple-double (12 pts, 10 rebs, 10 asts) vs McNeese on Nov. 29 was the first at SMU since 1999. He is one of just 25 players with at least one in NCAA D-I this season.
SMU is 10-6 this season (53-13 under Tim Jankovich) when outrebounding opponents, 10-3 when scoring more in the paint (54-11 under Jankovich) & 12-3 when outshooting opponents (64-2 under Jankovich).
SMU has 5 wins against AP Top 25 teams under Jankovich (14 games). That is tied for second at SMU. Doc Hayes had 13 from 1947-67. SMU is 56-32 in AAC play since 2014-15 (2nd-best in the league). The Mustangs are 33-12 at Moody Coliseum. SMU is 69-36 under Jankovich (.657) and 48-13 at Moody Coliseum.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 71.39
- Field Goal Percentage: 43.27
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.95
- Free Throw Percentage: 71.56
- Total Rebounds: 36.54
Defense
- Total Score: 69.32
- Field Goal Percentage: 42.63
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.31
- Free Throw Percentage: 72.82
- Total Rebounds: 34.04
Why Bet on Houston?
The Cougars had their national-best 33-game home winning streak and 12-game overall winning streak snapped in a 69-64 upset to Central Florida on Saturday. Houston led for much of the first half, but costly turnovers and strong defense from Central Florida kept the game close. The Cougars carried a 33-28 lead into halftime.
Houston was held scoreless for the first five minutes after the break, and an 11-0 run put the Knights in front. The Cougars rallied to a 60-58 lead with less than two minutes remaining before Central Florida pulled away. Houston had just three points off second-chance opportunities, compared with 15 second-chance points in its previous game, a 99-65 win over East Carolina. On the lack of second-chance scoring, Kelvin Sampson said: ”That’s not us.” Corey Davis Jr. led Houston with 19 points, and reserve DeJon Jarreau finished with 15.
Houston leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (36.6). The Cougars also rank third in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.5), fifth in scoring defense (60.5), fifth in rebounds per game (41.2), eighth in rebounding margin (+8.0) and sixth in scoring margin (+15.6). Houston has posted a 60-9 home record while competing in three different arenas in Houston during the last 3+ seasons.
Junior guard Armoni Brooks has emerged as an offensive and defensive leader for the Cougars in 2018-19. Brooks leads the Cougars with 6.3 rebounds per game and ranks second with 13.7 points per contest. He is one of three players to rank among the American Athletic Conference Top-16 leaders in both scoring and rebounding.
Senior point guard Galen Robinson Jr. is only the second player in school history with four 100+ assists during his career. He joined Derrick Daniels (1988-92) as the only players to accomplish that feat. This season, Robinson leads the Cougars and ranks second in the American Athletic Conference with 5.4 assists per contest.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 75.66
- Field Goal Percentage: 44.72
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.75
- Free Throw Percentage: 71.10
- Total Rebounds: 40.97
Defense
- Total Score: 60.76
- Field Goal Percentage: 36.91
- Three-Point Percentage: 27.63
- Free Throw Percentage: 67.60
- Total Rebounds: 33.34
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SMU vs Houston NCAAB Betting Trends
- Favorite is 3-1-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings
- Road team is 3-0-1 ATS in the last 4 meetings
- Under is 5-1 in Cougars last 6 overall
- SMU is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
- SMU is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of SMU’s last 5 games on the road
- Houston is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
- Houston is 24-1 SU in its last 25 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games at home
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction
SMU 58 – Houston 75
