Southeastern Louisiana vs Houston Baptist Picks and Odds (Jan. 6)

  • The Southeastern Louisiana Lions are 6.5-point favorites over the Houston Baptist Huskies in an NCAA men’s basketball game slated for Thursday, January 6
  • Southeastern Louisiana is a winner of three of the last four games from Houston Baptist
  • The Huskies were 79-76 winners in the last meeting between these two schools in 2020

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions and Houston Baptist Huskies are meeting for the first time in nearly two years when they’ll be squaring off in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tip-Off Event.

The two schools haven’t played since the Huskies won 79-76 at Southeastern Louisiana on February 5, 2020. However, it’s the Lions who are holding a slight 7-6 edge in the all-time series. Southeastern Louisiana has won three of the past four meetings.

It’s the Lions who are set as the 6.5-point favorites in this meeting. Southeastern Louisiana is 1-8 against the spread over the past nine games.

Southeastern Louisiana vs Houston Baptist Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Total
Southeastern Louisiana Lions -250 -6.5 (-110) O 143.5 (-110)
Houston Baptist Huskies +200 +6.5 (-110) U 143.5 (-110)

Odds as of January 5th at BetMGM.

Thursday’s game is set to begin at 12:00 pm ET at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. It’s part of first-round action in the Southland Conference Tip-Off Event. The game is being broadcast by ESPN+.

Southeastern Louisiana Lions Betting Trends

The 4-9 Lions will be required to shake off some rust in the early stages of this game. Southeastern Louisiana hasn’t played since December 21, falling 93-62 to the Hawkeyes at Iowa. Their December 29 game against Millsaps was postponed.

Junior guard/forward Gus Okafor and senior forward Jalyn Hinton are pacing the Lions offense. Okafor is averaging 12.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Hinton is putting up 11.5 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He is fourth in the Southland Conference in rebounding and second in the conference with 23 blocked shots.

Houston Baptist Huskies Betting Trends

The 4-6 Huskies come into this game off an impressive 94-63 drubbing of Ecclesia. Sophomore guard Za-Ontay Boothman led the way for Houston Baptist with 14 points. Junior center Zach Iyeyemi, sophomore guard Brycen Long and freshman forward Tristan Moore each added 12 points. Freshman forward Deshon Proctor was dominating on the boards, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. HBU finished with a 43-29 rebounding edge.

Senior guard/forward Darius Lee is the Huskies’ leading scorer this season, averaging 12.7 points per game. As well, he leads the team in blocked shots (six), assists (23) and steals (13). He’s also shooting 53% from the field on 45-of-84 shooting. Lee leads the Southland Conference and is 23rd in the NCAA in rebounds per game (9.4).

Houston Baptist endured through a rugged non-conference slate. According to the daily NET rankings, Houston Baptist is playing the 15th-toughest schedule among the 358 Division I NCAA teams.

Huskies vs Lions Prediction

The Huskies are outrebounding opponents by 8.2 per game margin. That leads the Southland Conference. HBU ranks 23rd in the nation in rebounding margin. Meanwhile, Houston Baptist’s 13.7 offensive rebounds per game ranks 20th in the NCAA. The Huskies are also the Southland Conference’s second-best scoring defense. The Huskies are allowing opponents to score 70.5 points per game.

SLU is 42nd in the nation in turnovers forced per game, averaging 16.23. The Lions average 17.8 points off turnovers per game.

The Huskies are 3-2 straight up over their past five games. Southeastern Louisiana is mired in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The Lions are 1-7 SU through their past eight games and 2-9 ATS over their past 11 games. They are also 1-5 SU in their last six games when facing Southland Conference opposition.

Houston Baptist is 1-6 ATS through the past seven games. The Huskies are 6-12 SU over their past 18 games. They’ve also won just four of their past 16 Southland Conference games. When playing as an underdog, Houston Baptist is 0-12 SU in the last 12 games.

Pick: Southeastern Louisiana Lions -6.5 (-110)

The post Southeastern Louisiana vs Houston Baptist Picks and Odds (Jan. 6) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.

Source: https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/ncaab/southeastern-louisiana-vs-houston-baptist-picks-odds-january6/

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