Alabama Crimson Tide at Houston Cougars Betting Preview
10 December 2022
Saturday is always a big day when it comes to college basketball, and this weekend is no exception, as some big games are on the schedule. The Houston Cougars host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon for a matchup between a pair of Top 10 teams.
The Alabama Crimson Tide come into this game with a record of 7-1, and they are back in the Top 10 because of the fast start. Alabama has won two straight games since suffering a blowout loss to UConn.
Houston is the top-ranked team in the country entering the month of December, and they just continue to play well. The Cougars are a perfect 9-0 on the year, and they have been incredibly dominant along the way.
The Houston Cougars are 7.5-point betting favorites over the Alabama Crimson Tide in this Top 10 showdown.
Crimson Tide Want to Play Fast
It’s a joy to watch Alabama play basketball as they are flying up and down the court on both ends of the floor. Alabama is scoring 83.5 points per game this season, but they are also allowing 68.5 points per night.
Forward Brandon Miller is having a huge season for the Crimson Tide, as he leads the team with 19 points per game. Alabama also has a ton of guards that are able to get to the basket at any moment, or they can also strike from deep.
The Crimson Tide want to win games on defense by getting steals, and that’s just hard to do against good teams. Alabama will need to be solid in the halfcourt if they are going to win this game.
Houston Hounding Opponents
It’s not easy to get college kids to play defense every time down the floor, but Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson hasn’t had that problem. Houston is holding opponents to just 47 points per game, and they average nearly ten steals per game.
The Cougars are also a terrific offensive team, and they do a great job of sharing the basketball. Houston is scoring 75 points per game this season, and it’s a bunch of guards that are setting the tone.
Guard Marcus Sasser leads the team with 17 points per game this season, and he has the potential to be an All-American this season.
Cougars Cruise to Big Win
It’s almost comical watching opponents try to find offense against the mighty Houston defense as they just continue to shut down every opponent. Alabama does present a pretty tough matchup, but it’s nothing that Houston hasn’t seen before.
This game is going to get slowed down at some point, and that is where Houston can absolutely crush teams. The offensive stars for Houston don’t always get as much credit as they should, and it will be the terrific guard play then ends up taking complete control of this one.
Bet the Houston Cougars -7.5 as they once again have little trouble in cruising to a win, but this time it’s over another Top 10 team.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
