Owls vs. Cougars Prediction
The 13th-ranked Houston Cougars are one of only three teams to have reached 20 wins already and will be in action tonight at home against a Temple Owls team that sent them to their only loss. Will Houston be the first team to make it to 21 wins?
Game Snapshot
603 Temple Owls at 604 Houston Cougars
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Fertitta Center at 7PM ET
TV: ESPN2
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Cougars are a 9.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 141.5 points. As of Thursday morning, 51 percent of public bets are siding with host Houston. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest info.
Owls blow double-digit win
Temple led 35-25 at halftime Sunday before blowing it in a 72-68 defeat at home against Cincinnati. The Owls (15-5, 5-2) shot 20-of-48 from the floor, 9-of-24 from 3-point distance and 19-of-31 from 3-point distance in the loss. J.P. Moorman led Temple with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 3-of-5 from 3-point range plus 1-of-1 at the free throw line off the bench. He also pulled down four rebounds. Shizz Alston Jr. contributed 18 points and five assists. Quinton Rose tallied 16 points, four boards, two assists and two steals. Nate Pierre-Louis added 11 points plus six rebounds and two assists.
Cougars win fifth straight
Houston improved to 20-1 on the season and 7-1 in conference play Sunday as it downed host Tulsa by a count of 77-65. The Cougars led by a commanding 45-29 halftime score en route to the victory. Houston shot 27-of-64 from the field, 11-of-35 from 3-point distance and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. Armoni Brooks paced the Cougars with 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting including 6-of-14 from 3-point range plus 4-of-4 at the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds. Fabian White Jr. registered 14 points along with six rebounds and two blocked shots. Nate Hinton added 13 points and five boards off the bench.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Templs
The Owls are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four road games. Temple is 4-1 ATS in its last five Thursday games.
Houston
The Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games. Houston is 33-16-2 ATS in its last 51 games overall.
Prediction:
I feel like this spread is a couple points too thin. This is a revenge game, the Cougars are at home and they’ve been playing exceptional basketball since the defeat. Sure, the Owls are the best team Houston has played in well over a month. But expect a hyper-focus as they want to set the record straight and avenge that previous 73-69 loss.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: HOUSTON COUGARS -9.5