The Belmont Bruins (2-1) will be at home in Curb Event Center when they go head-to-head against the Houston Baptist Huskies (1-1). The games Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 153.5 points with Belmont opening as a 17-point favorite. Action gets underway at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 18, 2017.
Houston Baptist Huskies at Belmont Bruins ATS Preview
The last time the Huskies played, they dismantled the Arlington Baptist Patriots, 108-67. David Caraher was the games leading scorer with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Houston Baptist played a nearly flawless game. They had a ridiculous offensive rebounding percentage of 56.4 and a turnover percentage of 10.8. Arlington Baptist had marks of 23.1 and 20.9, respectively, for those same stats.
The Bruins come in on a high note after defeating the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in their last matchup, 69-63. Belmont received a boost from Amanze Egekeze, who was the games leading scorer with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Bruins had a better free throw rate (0.208 vs. 0.129) and had a much better effective field goal percentage (0.547 vs. 0.444).
Looking at effective field goal percentage, Belmont should have a substantial advantage. Since the 2016-17 season, the Bruins offense ranks 17th in that metric at 0.556, while the Houston Baptist defense ranks 281st in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.522). Furthermore, the Huskies rank 10th in offensive rebounding percentage (37.5 percent), while the Bruins rank 22nd in defensive rebounding percentage (75.1 percent).
The Huskies are 18-14 straight up (SU) since last season, but have struggled covering the spread (1-3 against the spread (ATS)). Vegas has had a tendency to place the total low when Houston Baptist is involved since last season as 75.0 percent of their games have ended over the O/U total.
On the other hand, the Bruins, are 24-7 SU and 17-13 ATS since last season. Belmonts games have had a slight tendency to finish under the O/U total over that same time frame (53.3 percent).
Houston Baptist Huskies vs. Belmont Bruins Odds Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Belmont, ATS Winner – Houston Baptist, O/U – Over
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Huskies rank 136th in steals per game (6.4) while the Bruins rank 282nd (4.3).
- Belmont ranks fourth in three pointers attempted per game (29.5) while Houston Baptist ranks 257th (18.8).
- The Bruins rank 29th in assists allowed per game (11.1) while the Huskies rank 217th (14.1).
- Houston Baptist ranks 30th in rebounds per game (39.1) while Belmont ranks 207th (35.1).
