Houston vs Oral Roberts: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Houston has looked impressive so far this season but its defense faces a test in Max Abmas and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

Who: Houston Cougars vs Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Where: Fertitta Center, Houston Texas

When: Monday November 14th, 2022 7:00 PM CST

TV: ESPN+

The Cougars are a trendy pick by many to cut the nets down in April and it is with good reason. Houston is loaded they have the best backcourt in the country led by Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser. They can shoot, get to the rim, and play smothering defense. The Cougars enter this game averaging 82 points per game and only allowing 46 per game.

Really diving into the numbers it looks like the Cougars are playing this basketball season on easy mode. They are shooting 50% from the floor, hauling in 42 rebounds, and the Cougars provide 17 helpers. If those were not enough they add in 6 blocks and 12 steals per game. Yes, 12 steals per game over their first two games.

There is so much more to Houston that makes them a national title contender. They force a ton of turnovers on defense and they rarely turn the ball over. The backcourt has two natural point guards in Shead and Sasser who distribute the ball as well as score. Houston has the athletes to play uptempo this year and they are comfortable doing it. The one thing about the Cougars is they can also play slow and still be successful. The Cougars are deep and take fantastic shots and it is going to take a herculean effort by Oral Roberts to even keep this game close.

Let’s talk about Oral Roberts for a second. They are coached by Paul Mills who is an offensive genius and the Golden Eagles are consistently one of the best offensive teams in the country. Oral Roberts also has one of the best pure scorers in the game on their roster. He should be no stranger to college basketball fans though as he made a huge impact in the run to the Sweet 1t6 for Oral Roberts two seasons ago. Max Abmas is an elite-level scorer and if he gets hot and is scoring in the high 30’s to low 40’s Oral Roberts can beat a lot of teams.

Abmas is a hard cover because he is always ready and willing to take a shot from anywhere on the floor. The Golden Eagles come in as one of the top contenders for the Summit League crown. The starting five for Oral Roberts is experienced and has played a lot of basketball and they have one of the tallest players in the country in Connor Vanover in the middle. Vanover stands at 7’5” and can be a problem if you are not ready for him. Abmas is going to need to be a ball-dominant guard and take the majority of the shots for Oral Roberts to be successful.

I would like to say with confidence that Houston will cover the spread and will win going away but with the way the first week went it proves anyone can beat anyone on any given night. The season is starting off with some crazy upsets. This game does go likely as planned for Houston, they are not my number 1 team for no reason. It will be Houston winning and covering, Oral Roberts doesn’t have enough even with Abmas going for potentially 40 tonight. The Cougars are going to let the guard get his points but are likely going to take away every other option he has at his disposal.

The outcome of this game is only going to be a learning experience for Oral Roberts, it is going to be used as a gauge to figure out where they stand against one of the best in the country. It will give coach Mills a reason to update his offense and put more into play so the Golden Eagles can continue to score at will most nights. Houston better not put it on cruise control until the game is well in hand, but these tune-up games are going to be good for the loaded December schedule they have. They will still likely win the title, they are that good.

Prediction: Houston wins going away 86-55