The Harvard Crimson got off to a slow start but have really picked it up in the latter half of the non-conference slate. They will aim to push their winning streak to four games but it won’t be easy as they hit the road for a clash with the Houston Cougars.
Houston has only lost two games in the earlygoing and is undefeated at home. Harvard doesn’t have the same record but has faced stiffer competition so this will be an intriguing showdown. This outcome could end up going either way.
At 8 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Friday , December 23, 2016, at the Hofheinz Pavilion.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
Harvard is 4-4 straight up and 3-3-1 against the spread. The Crimson has been in the road twice this year and has covered in one of those games and pushed in the other.
Houston is 9-2 straight up and 4-3 against the spread. The Cougars are 2-0 covering the spread at home. They have been the favorite six times and have covered the spread in four of those instances.
Player to Watch
Rob Gray Jr. – Houston’s junior guard is leading the Cougars in scoring so far this season with 20.4 points a game. He has scored 20-plus points in six games already this season including dropping a season-high 30 points on Rhode Island on December 10th.
Gray has seen a steady improvement to start the 2016-17 season after averaging 16 points a game last year as a sophomore. He will be looking to continue his upward trajectory as the Cougars take on Harvard this week.
Harvard has a decent defense, allowing 67.4 points per game, so Gray, Jr. may have to work hard for his scoring chances in this one.
Key Stat
70.5. That’s how many points per game this Harvard offense is averaging so far this season. On paper, the Crimson is no match for Houston’s offense, which is putting up 83.3 points a game behind Gray and company.
Houston also boasts a much better team shooting percentage, shooting 49.7 percent from the field while Harvard is shooting 43.3 percent. The Crimson started the season at 1-4, averaging just 68 points per game, but have turned it on lately winning the last three in a row and putting up 74.6 points per contest in that stretch.
Harvard believes it can win this game because it has played a much tougher slate, regularly mixing it up against high-major programs. Houston, meanwhile, is 0-2 against big-conference foes and have not come close to their scoring average in those contests.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Harvard is a small-conference team but one of the better ones in the Ivy League. The Crimson will likely need to win their conference to make March Madness so this one won’t mean a bunch if that’s the case, but Harvard wants to be playing well entering it.
Houston is the statistically superior team and hopes to make a run in the American Conference. The Cougars dominated Ivy league foe Cornell earlier this season but Harvard is a much tougher matchup.
Still, Houston is at home and has the talent to take care of business in this game. While Harvard should be able to hang tough, in the end the Cougars should be able to do enough to once again emerge victorious at home.
Houston has played well in front of its home crowd and will need its help in this one. The Cougars would love to make a March Madness push and this could be another big win to help their cause.
College Basketball Odds: Houston 79, Harvard 74
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