After a great start to conference play on the road, #14 Houston looks to win their Big 12 home opener vs a strong BYU team. Keep reading for the Houston vs BYU prediction.
Game information:
Teams: BYU (10-2, 1-0) and Houston (9-3, 1-0)
Tip-off: 1 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KPRC 950
Latest on BYU basketball:
The Cougars have won their last four games coming in. Their last loss was on Dec. 3 at Providence, the only road game BYU has played thus far. The Cougars dominated their Big 12 opener at home vs Arizona State 76-56 last Saturday. Junior forward Richie Saunders broke out for 30 points and shot 61% from the field. Saunders leads BYU this season with 13.9 PPG and is just one of five on the team to average double digits.
“He’s a tough kid, I really like him. He has good size, is a really good shooter, athletic and good player,” Kelvin Sampson said.
Freshman guard Egor Demin is second with 12.2 PPG and leads BYU with 5.9 APG. Freshman forward Kanon Catchings is third on the team in points with 11.2 PPG and senior center Fousseyni Traore averages 10.6 PPG and is second on the team with 6.7 RPG.
“They’ve got a really good roster. Their length in the backcourt is excellent, they both can get 20 in different ways. Part of their strength is having two fives,” Sampson said.
Houston leads the all-time series 6-3 and won the most recent meeting 75-68 in Provo, Utah last January. UH has also won four of the last five games; however, BYU won in the only matchup in Fertitta Center so far back in 2019 by one, 72-71. BYU is only one of six programs to beat Houston at Fertitta Center since it opened in 2019.
Head coach Kevin Young is in his first year coaching at BYU and overall in his career, making this the first time Young has faced Sampson and Houston.
“BYU is the #1 defensive rebounding team. They have a lot of kids that can put up 20-30. They’re dangerous. I think they’ve got a chance to be really good as the season goes along,” Sampson said.
Latest on Houston basketball:
UH won their Big 12 season opener on the road at Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma 60-47 on Monday as graduate forward J’Wan Roberts led all players with a dominant 20-point, 11-rebound double-double. Graduate guard LJ Cryer added 18 points and is on a hot streak entering this matchup, scoring 17+ points in five of his last six games.
Cryer and junior guard Emanuel Sharp lead the Cougars in scoring this season, with 15.1 and 13.7 PPG respectively. This duo ranks among the best in the Big 12, as they stand in the top 10 in three-point shots made and three-point percentage. Utah is the only other school with two top 10 leaders in these categories. Houston has won 29 straight home games entering this contest, which is the longest streak in the nation. UH has won 14 conference games in a row going back to last season at home.
Houston is 42-22 all-time in conference home openers with the Cougars winning their last nine. Last season, UH beat West Virginia 89-55 in their conference home opener.
“I don’t think we’re anywhere close to where I think we can be,” Sampson said.
Houston vs BYU prediction: Cougars by 12
This will be a good game and BYU looks strong so far this year with plenty of scorers and a tough defense that does well in rebounding. This will give a challenge to Houston and the score will be close for most of the game. However, UH rides their home dominance and breaks it open late to win comfortably.
[…] BYU had their four game win streak snapped and could not get anything going inside the paint. Junior forward Richie Saunders only scored nine points as the Cougars shot just 37% from the field. The major issue for BYU was the 17 turnovers, which resulted in 24 points for Houston. This was UH’s second biggest win versus BYU in program history. […]