The #3 Houston Cougars (21-2, 14-9-0 ATS, 9-1 AAC) will be looking for payback when they're in Philadelphia to face the Temple Owls (14-9, 13-8-2 ATS, 8-2 AAC) for the second time this season. The first meeting was two weeks ago when Houston was ranked #1, with Temple pulling off the upset in Texas. That win also snapped a six-game losing streak for the Owls against the Cougars. This game is slated to start at 6:00 p.m. EST in Temple's Liacouras Center. The winner of this game will hold the top spot in the American Athletic Conference standings.
Following a couple of deep tournament runs in recent years, Houston is on the short list of teams considered favorites to win it all this season. KenPom currently has them as the #1 team in the country. Bracketology has them as a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament if the season ended today.
The Cougars have won all three of their games since losing to Temple. The most recent was a 70-61 victory on the road against Wichita State. It took a late run, but they were able to pull it out behind a suffocating defense. All five starters finished with double-digit points, and guard Jamal Shead added seven assists.
BANG! It's @JaraceW with a THREE!#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/9M37iR50ia
— Houston Men's Hoops ?? ?? (@UHCougarMBK) February 3, 2023
Houston plays at one of the slowest paces in the league, and that aids in making them one of the hardest teams to score against. They allow the second-lowest shooting percentage against in the nation at 35.3%. They give up 55.2 points per game and 26.3% shooting on threes, which both rank third in the country this season. All of those numbers lead the AAC.
Houston's offense only puts up 75.2 points per game because of their tempo, but the Cougars are among the most efficient offenses in college basketball. They make 47.0% of their shots, second in the AAC and 55th nationally. They knock down 35.7% of their threes, third in the conference.
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