The Houston Cougars will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to face the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on Friday evening with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 PM ET and will air on Fox Sports 1.

Houston enters this game ranked 6^th in the AP Poll and 5^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 7-0 which includes winning the championship in the Charleston Classic by defeating the Towson Tigers by a score of 65-49 in the 1^st round, the Utah Utes in the Semifinals by a score of 76-66, and the Dayton Flyers in the championship game by a score of 79-44. The early season success for the Houston Cougars can be attributed to their defensive play as they enter this game allowing an average of 49 points per game which is the fewest points allowed per game in college basketball. 

The Cougars have also been an above-average scoring team as they enter this game averaging 76.29 points per game. L.J. Cryer has been their leading scorer this season as he is averaging 17 points per game. The Cougars will look to remain undefeated when they travel to face the Xavier Musketeers on Friday evening.

The Xavier Musketeers enter this game with a record of 4-3 which puts them in 10^th place in the Big East Conference. Xavier’s wins this season have come against the Robert Morris Colonials by a score of 77-63, the Jacksonville Dolphins by a score of 79-56, the Saint Mary’s Gaels by a score of 66-49, and the Bryant Bulldogs by a score of 100-75 while their losses have come against the Purdue Boilermakers by a score of 71-83, the Washington Huskies by a score of 71-74, and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies by a score of 76-78. 

The Musketeers have struggled against Power-5 conference teams this season as they are 0-2 with one of the losses coming against the best team in college basketball, the Purdue Boilermakers, and they will have another tough test when they host the 6^th-ranked Houston Cougars.

BookMaker has the Houston Cougars listed as 7.5-point favorites on the road against the Xavier Musketeers on Friday evening. This will be the first time in the history of these two programs that they will face each other in college basketball. The Houston Cougars are 4-3 ATS overall and 4-3 ATS as a favorite this season while the Xavier Musketeers are 4-3 ATS overall, 2-2 ATS at home, and 2-0 ATS as an underdog on the year.

Houston enters this game with a better record and is the superior team in terms of talent this season as they enter this game ranked 6^th in the AP Poll and 5^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 7-0 while Xavier is 4-3 and has lost to both of their Power-5 conference opponents and lost to the Purdue Boilermakers by 12 points. 

However, the Musketeers have covered the spread in both games in which they were underdogs as they are 2-0 ATS as an underdog. I look for that trend to continue which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the Xavier Musketeers when they host the Houston Cougars on Friday evening.