A key college battle sees the visiting Cougars travelling to Marshall Wednesday to take on the Thundering Herd on Wednesday.

This is a conference playoff game in the Conference USA Tournament. The game is being played at Haskins Center, which makes it technically a neutral site match.

Marshall will face the 12-17 Cougars, who own a 10-8-1 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Thundering Herd are 11-12 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Cougars are 9-10 favoring the OVER.



View Houston vs Marshall Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're backing the visitors in this one, you'll find the Cougars listed as 8.5-point underdogs

Power Rankings / Prediction:
According to new college basketball power rankings here, it's the No. 24-ranked Thundering Herd and the No. 181-rated Cougars in this matchup. Computer formulas aimed at predicting NCAAB scores point to a 76-68 win for the Thundering Herd on Wednesday.



How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Cougars is ranked No. 236 in NCAA hoops at 33.8 per game. Contrast that with Marshall’s No. 33 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Marshall is the No. 235-ranked team in the country at 5.6 per game, while Houston rates No. 210 at 5.9 per game.

Defensively, Houston features the nation's No. 271-rated defense on the road, allowing 74.7 points per game. Marshall, meanwhile, comes in at No. 48 nationally in scoring at home.

Houston lost its last outing, a 72-57 result against Rice on March 5. They failed to cover in that game as a 1-point favorite. Houston got 18 points from Zamal Nixon but lost anyway, 72-57, to Rice on Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Marshall won its last outing, an 83-69 result against Central Florida on March 5. They covered in that game as a 4-point favorite. Marshall got 25 points from Damier Pitts en route to an 83-69 victory over Central Florida on Saturday at Cam Henderson Center.


Houston Cougars Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
After playing Rice are 4-6
After a loss are 1-9

Marshall Thundering Herd Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
After playing Central Florida are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

A few Cougars at Thundering Herd trends to consider:
Marshall is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Marshall's last 6 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Marshall's last 5 games
Marshall is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston