Houston is ranked #12 in the country heading into this Noon ET tip on CBS. A Final Four team from a year ago, the Cougars are averaging 83.4 points at home where they are 8-0. They probably deserve to be ranked even higher. But for today, we’ll just say their game is likely to go Over.

Wichita State can’t possibly shoot any worse than it did on New Year’s Day. The Shockers made only 18 of their 61 field goal attempts and were 7 of 33 on three-pointers. Those numbers are obviously well below season averages.

Houston is going for its ninth straight conference win here. Their last loss to an American Conference team occurred in February of last year … to Wichita State. The Cougars surely remember that 68-63 loss and will look to pummel the Shockers this time out.

While there have been injuries in the backcourt, Houston’s frontcourt has proven to have tremendous depth and scoring ability. In an 83-66 win over South Florida earlier this week, Josh Carlton went for a career-high 30 points.

Assuming Houston can hit its season average in points here, we won’t need many from Wichita State. Fortunately, it’s all but assured the Shockers will see improved shooting compared to the last game. Take the OVER in this one.