Arizona State Sun Devils vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 1/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona State Sun Devils vs Houston Cougars

Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-7) are on their way to Fertitta Center on Sunday where they will try to beat the Houston Cougars (16-1).

The Arizona State Sun Devils played Arizona and went home with a loss by a final score of 89-82 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Sun Devils left the arena with 22 while Arizona accounted for 17 fouls. They also converted 4 of 11 shots from distance. Arizona finished the game at 80.8% from the free throw line by making 21 of their 26 shots. Moreover, Arizona pulled down 38 boards (10 offensive, 28 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Arizona recorded 16 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Regarding defending, Arizona State allowed the other team to shoot 54.2% from the field on 32 of 59 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they earned 22 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Sun Devils made 7 of 11 tries for a rate of 63.6%. Arizona State walked away from the contest with a 47.8% field goal percentage (32 of 67) and made 11 of their 25 three-point shots.

Massamba Diop is one guy who played a role for this game. He left the arena with 21 points on 8 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 minutes played and also totaled 9 boards. He finished shooting 80.0% from the field and also earned 1 assist.

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Arizona State will enter this contest with a record of 10-7 this year. They turn the ball over 11.5 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.4 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Arizona State is pulling in 33.8 boards per contest and has accumulated 241 dimes this year, which is 214th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Sun Devils are connecting on 33.6% on shots from downtown (131 of 390) and 74.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 80.8 pts per game (107th in the country) while connecting on 45.9% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Sun Devils are able to force 14.0 turnovers every game while drawing 21.4 fouls. They are relinquishing 34.7% on 3-point shots and they rank 314th in college in PPG allowed (79.4). The Sun Devils defense is allowing a FG percentage of 45.3% (452 of 998) and they surrender 35.5 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 206th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 235 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Houston Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 77-48 when they faced West Virginia. The Cougars earned 24 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 36 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 6 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. West Virginia earned 20 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a rate of 76.2%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Houston knocked down 11 of 35 tries (31.4%). Overall, the Cougars shot 25 for 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1%. The Cougars permitted West Virginia to convert 17 of their 46 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 37.0% in this matchup. They finished 36.0% from beyond the arc by going 9 out of 25 and finished the contest at 5 out of 10 from the charity stripe (50.0%). When it comes to how they rebounded, Houston allowed West Virginia to get 25 overall (5 offensive).

Milos Uzan was important for the Cougars for this contest. He buried 5 of 9 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and added 2 rebounds. He accumulated 17 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and earned 2 dimes for the game.

Houston has a record of 16-1 so far this season. The Cougars commit 17.6 fouls every game and they go 75.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (96th in college hoops) and they are giving up possession 8.6 times per contest. Houston has accumulated 1,313 pts this year (77.2 per game) and they snag 38.2 boards per game. As an offense, the Cougars are hitting on 44.2% from the field, which is ranked 246th in the nation.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 1st in college in PPG given up with 59.3. They are able to force 15.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 39.0% from the field (18th in college). The Houston defense surrenders 30.1% from downtown (113 of 375) and their opponents are connecting on 66.2% of their free throw shots. They surrender 10.1 assists and 33.4 boards per game, which has them ranked 10th and 109th in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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