West Virginia Mountaineers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds
Game: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Houston Cougars
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX
TV: ESPN+
The West Virginia Mountaineers (12-3) are en route to Fertitta Center on Wednesday where they will take on the Houston Cougars (12-3).

The West Virginia Mountaineers stepped onto the hardwood against Colorado and earned the victory with a final of 78-70 in their last game. West Virginia finished with a 45.5% FG percentage (25 of 55) and converted 8 of their 24 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Mountaineers converted 20 of their 28 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. In terms of grabbing boards, they earned 26 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 9 dimes in the game while creating 14 turnovers and having 7 steals. In reference to defending, West Virginia allowed the other team to go 41.7% from the field on 20 out of 48 shooting. Colorado recorded 13 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Colorado grabbed 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Colorado finished shooting 80.0% at the charity stripe by burying 24 of 30 tries. They also made 6 of 19 attempts from distance. When discussing fouls, the Mountaineers ended up finishing with 24 while Colorado finished the game with 22 fouls.
Javon Small is a guy who was important in this contest. He finished 35.3% from the field and also recorded 7 assists. He played for 38 mins played and also collected 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 6 out of 17 shooting.
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West Virginia steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 12-3 so far this season. They are turning it over 11.1 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.7 fouls every game. As a team, West Virginia is grabbing 36.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 213 assists on the season, which has them ranked 263rd in the nation in terms of passing. The Mountaineers are hitting 34.6% on shots from distance (147 of 425) and 75.4% from the charity stripe. They average 74.5 points per game (204th in the country) while hitting 43.6% from the field.
Defensively, the Mountaineers are forcing 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 15.3 personal fouls. They are 13th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 154 relinquished on the year. The Mountaineers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.4% (331 of 863) and they concede 36.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They relinquish 28.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 24th in D-1 in PPG allowed (63.9).
The last time they took the court, the Houston Cougars got the win with a final of 87-57 against Kansas State. The Cougars recorded 25 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards for a total of 41 for this contest. They also coughed it up 4 times, while getting 8 steals for this game. Kansas State was called for 17 personal fouls in this contest which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to make 13 of those for a rate of 65.0%. In regard to shots from distance, Houston buried 6 out of their 14 attempts (42.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Cougars ended up going 34 for 69 from the floor which had them sitting at 49.3%. The Cougars allowed Kansas State to make 19 out of their 47 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.4% for the contest. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by going 10 of 25 and ended up shooting 9 out of 14 from the free throw line (64.3%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Houston allowed Kansas State to pull down 17 in all (2 on the offensive side).
Emanuel Sharp ended up being a factor for the Cougars for the matchup. He tallied 15 points in his 31 mins of playing time and accounted for 1 assist in the game. He buried 5 out of 8 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and added 4 rebounds.
Houston has a record of 12-3 this year. The Cougars are committing 16.8 fouls per game and they go 74.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (205th in the nation) and they are turning it over 9.4 times per contest. Houston has accumulated 1,156 points for the season (77.1 per game) and they grab 38.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Cougars are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which ranks them 130th in the country.
The Cougars defensively are ranked 1st in the country in PPG given up with 54.2. They have forced 14.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 34.7% from the floor (1st in college). The Houston defense allows 29.1% from downtown (98 of 337) and opponents are making 69.8% of their foul shots. They surrender 10.0 dimes and 31.3 boards per contest, which is ranked 21st and 31st in college hoops.
Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?
Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston
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Additional Resources:
Houston Cougars - Twitter
West Virginia Mountaineers - Twitter