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Houston Cougars @ BYU Cougars

Current Records: Houston 16-2, BYU 14-4

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Houston has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Houston Cougars and the BYU Cougars will face off in a Big 12 battle at 9:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Marriott Center. Houston is the slight favorite, but fans should be in for an exciting game likely to go down to the wire.

Winning is just a little bit easier when your shooting is a whole 18.6% better than the opposition, a fact Houston proved on Saturday. They strolled past the Knights with points to spare, taking the game 57-42.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Houston to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ja'Vier Francis, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and three blocks. Francis has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was L.J. Cryer, who scored 16 points along with four steals.

Meanwhile, the Cougars couldn't handle the Red Raiders on Saturday and fell 85-78. BYU was up 17 in the first but still couldn't manage to seal the deal.

Despite their defeat, BYU saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Aly Khalifa, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Khalifa has scored all season. Richie Saunders was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.

The Cougars pushed their record up to 16-2 with that win, which was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 29.13 points. As for the Cougars, their loss dropped their record down to 14-4.

This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Houston have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like BYU struggles in that department as they've been averaging 42.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Houston and BYU were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in November of 2019, but Houston came up empty-handed after a 72-71 loss. Can Houston avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.

Odds

Houston is a slight 2.5-point favorite against BYU, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is set at 136.5 points.

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Series History

BYU and Houston both have 1 win in their last 2 games.

  • Nov 15, 2019 - BYU 72 vs. Houston 71
  • Nov 24, 2018 - Houston 76 vs. BYU 62