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Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Houston Cougars

Current Records: Notre Dame 4-2, Houston 3-2

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If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for Houston. They will square off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Thursday at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Cougars are looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road dating back to last season.

Houston's usually-dominant defense will be looking to make up for Tuesday's dud, when Alabama offense got past them with ease. Houston took an 85-80 hit to the loss column at the hands of Alabama on Tuesday. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Crimson Tide: they've now lost three in a row.

The losing side was boosted by L.J. Cryer, who scored 30 points in addition to three steals.

Even though they lost, Houston smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in ten consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame fought the good fight in their overtime match against Rutgers on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 85-84 to the Scarlet Knights. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.

The losing side was boosted by Matt Allocco, who shot 6-for-9 from deep and dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. He had some trouble finding his footing against Elon on Friday, so this was a nice turnaround. Another player making a difference was Burke Chebuhar, who had 11 points in addition to seven rebounds.

Houston's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Notre Dame, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Houston has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Notre Dame struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.2. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Odds

Houston is a big 15.5-point favorite against Notre Dame, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cougars as a 14.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 136 points.

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