(photo: Jason Fochtman – Houston Chronicle)
24/25 Season Record: 11-11 (BB: 1-4 – WTF)
11/9 Card:
UNLV +2 (6:00pm – MWN) (DraftKings – Given on Twitter/X last night)
Rice +10.5 (7:00pm – ESPN+) (FanDuel & ESPNBet)
Houston -2.5 (9:30pm – ESPNU) (FanDuel – Given on Twitter/X last night)
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*** Shorter write-up than normal. Having to hit the road today and not enough time to get all my thoughts/stats out there ***
UNLV +2 : The wrong team was favored at the open. The books are still relying on KenPom for their handicapping it appears. I had this game as UNLV -2, so it was nice to get this one locked in at the reverse. There has been steam this morning to push UNLV to a 1 point favorite. We have rocked it out with CLV this season. Hopefully it starts to pay off.
Let’s all be real. Memphis was let off of the hook in their opener. Missouri was in complete control of that game and then completely melted once Memphis went to a full-court press. It was more of a Mizzou collapse than a Memphis win. The lack of a true point guard reared it’s ugly head for Missouri. UNLV won’t have that problem. DJ Thomas from UNLV is the REAL deal. We talked about him a bunch last season as a freshman, and this should be a monster year for the sophomore. He had 17 points with 7 assists in their opener. More importantly, he had 0 turnovers. DJ will be able to break whatever Memphis throws at them. The poor execution on offense will catch up to Memphis today. UNLV wins this one
Score Prediction: UNLV 78 – Memphis 75
Rice +10.5 : Not sure how much of a hot take this is, but I see FSU as one of the bottom power conference teams this season. The Seminoles were able to address frontcourt length per usual in the offseason, but they completely ignored the backcourt once again. This team is going to struggle mightily from distance this year. This was evident in their 4-22 performance from three against NKU. I don’t think there is enough firepower in this FSU team to blow out Rice. I like the way the Owls matchup with Florida State. There is a ton of length in the frontcourt and they have some height at the guard/wing positions as well. I think the Owls will be able to take the fight to FSU in regards to the glass and getting to the free throw line (38 free throw attempts in opener). They are an FSU Jr. in that regard, but with better options from the 3 point line. They can keep this within 10.
Score Prediction: FSU 80 – Rice 74
Houston -2.5 : This is one of my favorite plays of this young season. I have had my eye on it for a while. They market seems to agree. Major CLV heading our way on this one as well. Houston is unequivocally the best team in the country in my opinion. Check out my preseason blog for my thoughts on that. I would lay 2.5 points with them in any non-road game scenario. I think they are that good.
We were on Auburn with our only Best Bet hit of the season earlier this week. By the way, I am very pissed of by my performance in that regard. We are going to get that corrected real quick. Let’s go on a 5 win Best Bet streak and get that record to 6-4 through the first 10. Ok, back to what you are here to read. The Tigers won by 51 points in a bludgeoning of Vermont. Their physicality and athleticism was a major reason why I felt comfortable in laying the points there and boy oh boy did that pay off. The edge completely disappears against Houston. I believe Auburn is going to find it really hard to get Johnni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara going in this game due to the frontcourt and wing defenders that Houston possesses. Big JoJo Tugler is healthy again and looking better than ever before. I am also hearing that Francis is likely to go in this one.
Houston is the class of the country. Happy to lay this number in what is essentially a home game at the Toyota Center. This is my Best Bet. Go Cougs!
Score Prediction: Houston 75 – Auburn 68
Best of luck! Let’s snipe!!
threepointsniper.com 