Memphis Tigers vs. Houston Cougars Total Pick

Memphis Tigers (21-9 SU, 15-14-1 ATS) vs. Houston Cougars (28-5 SU, 21-12-0 ATS)
When: Sunday March 13 2022, 3:15 PM PM (ET)
Where: Dickies Arena

Point Spread: Memphis +5.5/Houston -5.5 (BAS)
Total: 134
Money Line: Tigers +153/Houston -187

Key Injuries

Memphis Emoni Bates: Back (OUT)

Houston Fabian White Jr.: Back (QUESTIONABLE) Tramon Mark: Shoulder (OUT) Marcus Sasser: Toe (OUT) Kiyron Powell: Redshirt (OUT)

Recent Form

The Memphis Tigers come into this matchup with an overall record of 21-9. On the season, the Tigers have performed well in their 20 conference games, posting a record of 15-5. This mark is good for 3rd in the American. Through 15 games, the Tigers are 8-7 away from home or at neutral sites. Heading into this matchup, the Tigers are looking to stay hot, as they try to add on to their current 6 game win streak.

The Houston Cougars get set to host the Tigers with an overall record of 28-5. On the season, the Cougars have performed well in their 20 conference games, posting a record of 17-3. This mark is good for 1st in the American. In this game, the Cougars will be looking for their 3rd straight win.

For the season, the Memphis Tigers are averaging 76.2 points per game, good for a rank of 38th in the NCAA. When playing on the road, the Tigers’s scoring average drops to 73 points per contest. The team’s defensive performance also takes a hit when playing away from home, giving up an additional 4.0 points per game. On the other side, the Houston Cougars are the 43rd ranked scoring offense, averaging 76.0 points per game while giving up just 59 (4th).

Efficiency Outlook

Houston enters this matchup vs Memphis, having played 33 games as the more efficient offense and defensive team. In these contests, they have posted a record of 28-5. Through 33 games, the Cougars are averaging 78.0 points per 70.0 possessions (NCAA Average), compared to 73.0 for the Cougars. In these situations, Houston has an average scoring margin of 17.0 points. On the other side, the Tigers are 5-3 as the inferior team on both ends of the court. In these 8 instances, they hold an average scoring margin of +4.0.

For the year, the Tigers are well below the NCAA average in percentage of points from made three-point shots, sitting at just 25.6%. On the other side, the Cougars have been a very balanced scoring unit, with 31.6% of their scoring coming from downtown. In terms of efficiency, Memphis has been the more efficient team, connecting at a rate of 36.4%, compared to Houston at 34.1%.

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Betting Trends Worth Noting

• Tigers are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games overall.
• Tigers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games.
• Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games as a favorite.
• Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games.

Joe’s Total Pick

Duren will probably play but this game is a hard pass as long as he’s questionable. If he does play, he may be too banged up to be efficient so I’m still suggesting you pass on a spread bet. The total however, looks worthy of a few bucks with the UNDER looking like a solid play for the same reasons.