The Houston Cougars were a regular season championship machine in the American Athletic Conference. Indeed, Houston’s dominant regular season performance earned them the nation’s #1 ranking. Last week in the AAC Tournament, the Cougars marched to the championship game with easy College Basketball lines wins over East Carolina and Cincinnati. In the championship game, the Cougars met the Memphis Tigers for the third time in 2022-23. Previously, Houston won the first two meetings en route to the league title. Memphis took Sunday’s title game against shorthanded Houston. However, the Cougars are a top favorite to win the natty.
Northern Kentucky Norse vs. Houston Cougars Betting Information
| Date and Time: | Thursday, March 16, 2023, 9:20 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama |
| TV Coverage: | TNT |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Kentucky | +19½ (-110) | 122½ (-110) | +1415 |  |
| Houston | -19½ (-110) | 122½ (-110) | -3650 | |
| ||||
Northern Kentucky vs. Houston SBG Odds Overview
Last week, Houston rested key players in what amounted to a surrender to the Memphis Tigers in the AAC championship game. Now comes the Big Dance. And many gamblers like head coach Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars. Certainly, Houston is the bigger sports betting brand in this matchup. But oddsmakers will make you pay to take the Cougars.
Northern Kentucky Norse Team Overview
Overall, the Northern Kentucky Norse are 19-12 straight up, 18-11 against the spread, and 10-18 over/under the total. Northern Kentucky has national metrics of 285th for scoring offense, 262nd for field goal percentage, 128th for 3-point field goal percentage, 301st for free throw percentage, and 265th for offensive rebounding. While on defense, Northern Kentucky is 28th for scoring defense, 165th for field goal percentage permitted, 332nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 137th for defensive rebounding.
Northern Kentucky won the Horizon League tournament championship. Also, the Norse have gotten the cash in seven of their last eight games. Northern Kentucky went under the total in five of their final seven games. Marques Warrick leads Northern Kentucky with 19.1 points per game. Chris Brandon adds 9.8 rebounds per contest.
Houston Cougars Team Overview
The Houston Cougars are 29-2 straight up, 17-14 against the spread, and 14-16 over/under the total. In sum, Houston has national metrics of 77th for scoring offense, 45th for field goal percentage, 133rd for 3-point field goal percentage, 165th for free throw percentage, and 19th for offensive rebounding. While on defense, Houston is 2nd for scoring defense, 2nd for field goal percentage permitted, 2nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 10th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Houston failed to cover seven of its final nine games. The Cougars went under the total in three of their last four outings. Marcus Sasser leads Houston with 17.1 points per game. Also, J’Wan Roberts adds 7.8 rebounds per contest.
Kendric Davis scored 31 points, with 14 in a big run before halftime, and Memphis beat short-handed No. 1 Houston 75-65 on Sunday. As a result, the Tigers won the AAC tournament title and the league’s automatic NCAA bid.
Namely, DeAndre Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Tigers. Memphis is going to March Madness for the second straight year. They made it last season even after a title game loss to the Cougars. As mentioned earlier, Houston played without AAC player of the year Marcus Sasser. The senior guard strained his groin in the first half of Saturday’s semifinal game.
Northern Kentucky vs. Houston SBG Free Picks
In this situation, the casual sector is all over Houston. Thus, Northern Kentucky is a better value as the contrarian choice with the College basketball lines.
Northern Kentucky vs. Houston SBG Best Bet: Northern Kentucky Norse.