The Houston Cougars will look to boost their win total and cover the spread when they tip off against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday in NCAAB play.

Houston will face the 12-16 Mustangs, who own a 10-14 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Cougars are 9-6-2 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Mustangs are 11-13 favoring the OVER.



View Southern Methodist vs Houston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're going with the Cougars in this one, they're listed as 1.5-point favorites on the NCAAB betting menu for Monday's contest.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Power Rankings at Odds Shark show No. 206-rated Southern Methodist taking on the No. 221-rated Cougars in this contest. The scores prediction computer here indicates a possible 66-65 win for the Mustangs on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Houston's No. 86 nationally ranked offense (71.9 points per game) against a Mustangs defense that sits as the No. 22 at 59.7 PPG. The Cougars have been averaging 46.1% from the field, more than the Mustangs have managed so far this season (42.4% on average).

Defensively, Southern Methodist features the nation's No. 24-rated defense on the road, allowing 61.8 points per game. Houston, meanwhile, comes in at No. 55 nationally in scoring at home.

Southern Methodist won its last outing, a 64-50 result against Tulane on February 22. They covered in that game as a 2.5-point favorite. The Mustangs grabbed a 64-50 win over the Green Wave on Wednesday, behind a 17-point effort from London Giles at Moody Coliseum.

Houston lost its last outing, a 66-58 result against Marshall on February 22. They covered in that game as a 14-point underdog. The Cougars got 17 points from Leon Gibson, but it was Marshall that prevailed in a 66-58 final on Wednesday at Cam Henderson Center.


Southern Methodist Mustangs Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Southern Miss are 2-5
After playing Tulane are 5-5
After a win are 3-7

Houston Cougars Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 3-5
Before playing Tulane are 4-6
After playing Marshall are 3-3
After a loss are 3-7

A few Mustangs at Cougars trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Southern Methodist's last 7 games on the road
Southern Methodist is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston
Southern Methodist is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Houston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Southern Methodist
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games at home
Houston is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
Houston is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing Southern Methodist


Next up:
Southern Methodist at Southern Miss, Wednesday, February 29
Houston home to Tulane, Wednesday, February 29