Barry Recks
The Houston Cougars have virtually locked the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference, but they can’t afford to lose to the East Carolina Pirates, given their goal to snatch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Pirates will be the clear underdogs in this game, but anything can happen.
Read on for more about this Houston vs East Carolina matchup in the 2022-23 college basketball season, including the latest odds, pick, and prediction to win this showdown, as brought to you by JefeBet. Also, don’t forget to check out the other NCAAB game previews here to help you make the best betting decisions.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Houston Cougars vs East Carolina Pirates College Basketball Game on February 25, 2023
- Where: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, North Carolina
- When: Saturday, February 25, 2023, 8:00 PM ET
[the_ad_placement id=“sports-ncaab”]
Betting on the Houston Cougars
- Regular Season Record: 26-2
Another game, another win for Houston, which thrashed the Tulane Green Wave last Wednesday at home, 89-59. That game was a showcase of the Cougars’ might on offense and defense. J’Wan Roberts was a walking bucket for Houston, scoring 26 points on 9/10 shooting from the field, while Marcus Sasser added 22 points.
Jarace Walker was not as effective offensively, as he scored only nine points on 12 tries, but look for him to rebound right away against East Carolina, which has among the worst defenses in the AAC.
In fact, the Pirates are just eighth in the league with 105.8 adjusted defensive efficiency and are a sub-170 team nationally in terms of points allowed per game. Houston should have its way on defense as well this Saturday, as the Cougars remain tops in the league in points allowed per game. They went to the Tulane game No. 1 in Division I basketball with just 55.7 points allowed per contest. Houston is 3-1 ATS in its last four games.
Betting on the East Carolina Pirates
- Regular Season Record: 14-13
East Carolina is gaining steam of late, and just in time for a huge matchup versus the Cougars. The Pirates have won four of their last five games, including last Tuesday’s 62-60 road win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Their lone loss over the last five games was to the SMU Mustangs, while scoring wins against the likes of the Cincinnati Bearcats and SMU over the same stretch.
Although East Carolina is lagging behind most of its rivals in the AAC in a lot of statistical categories, among the few it rates high are in the offensive rebounding rate department. The Pirates are third in the league with an offensive rebound percentage of 32.6 Javon Small has been missing games for East Carolina due to a knee issue, but Jaden Walker has stepped up of late, having put up 24 points in the win against Tulsa. The Pirates have covered the spread in three of their last four games as the home team.
JefeBet Prediction
East Carolina will show some fight in the early goings of the game, but Houston’s talent and system will rule in the end. The Cougars break away before the end of the first half and coast to a win by a big margin.
Prediction: Houston wins by at least 15 points.
