Courtside Players Club NCAAB 4-5 Units (1/6/25)

NCAAB

1 Picks (5 Units).

9PM EST: TCU/Houston Under 128.5 (5 Units).

Houston's been ranked inside the top 10 in defensive rating each of the last 5 seasons. They're currently 2nd in DRtg and 1st in points allowed per game. So far, they've allowed just 47.1 points per game at Home. TCU's 155th in offensive rating, 213th in FG%, and 338th in FT %. They are pretty stout defensively, ranking 25th in Defensive Rating and 8th in opponent 3-PT %. The perimeter defense is important to keep a lid on this game as Houston's ranked 3rd shooting 41.4% from Deep. They're just 239th in 3-PT Rate so this shouldn't be a 3-PT Contest. Both teams do a pretty good job taking care of the ball, ranking 70th and 14th in turnovers per game. That'll limit fast break opportunities and neither team’s looking to run the floor regardless. Houston's 361st and TCU's 220th in Tempo. TCU's looking at long empty possessions throughout this game and it’s going to move at Houston’s Pace. Scoring should slow down late as well as Houston likely blows TCU out. Starters will get pulled and there won't be the end of game free throws. If this game is somehow competitive enough at the end it'll be because of TCU's defense, not their offense.