SMU vs Tulane Basketball Predictions, Odds and Picks - Feb. 1

SMU vs Tulane Basketball Predictions, Odds and Picks - Feb. 1 | College Basketball Season 2023-24

Modified Feb 01, 2024 04:43 GMT

AAC Basketball Tournament - Semifinals - Tulane v Houston — AAC Basketball - Tulane meets SMU next

The 13-7 (4-3 conf) SMU Mustangs look to take down the 12-8 (3-5 conf) Tulane Green Wave in this AAC matchup between two middle-of-the-pack teams. Both squads have noticeably not built any major momentum this season, and are looking to finish things strong – not to mention break their identical two-game skids.

SMU dropped two games to North Texas and Wichita State, while Tulane lost to UTSA and Charlotte last time out. However, one could say the Green Wave have been the "better" team as their two losses were close and they had chances to secure what could've been two straight victories. The Mustangs, in comparison, were relatively run out of the building.

Who wins this AAC men's basketball matchup?

SMU vs Tulane Prediction

For this SMU vs. Tulane hardwood clash, the Green Wave has a clear advantage in terms of individual talent by the way of senior forward Kevin Cross. He leads the team in scoring (17.5 ppg), passing (4.5 apg), and FG percentage (54 percent). He's also coming off an impressive six-game run where he averaged at least 20 points on extremely high usage (almost 38 minutes per game).

Fatigue could be a factor for Cross considering how hard he's worked during those games, yet just helping his team win only two out of those six. So Green Wave fans should perhaps not be surprised if he runs out of gas, especially against SMU's second-best AAC defense.

The Mustangs are bannered on this side of the ball by guard Zhuric Phelps (2.0 steals per game) and forward Tyreek Smith (1.5 blocks per game).

SMU could easily force Tulane into turnovers for easy baskets, as well as change or block their shots at the rim when they try to go inside. The Green Wave might be the best-scoring team in the AAC, but they're going up against a defense that could pose problems for them the way no other team has thus far.

SMU vs Tulane Betting Odds

TEAM	SPREAD	TOTAL	MONEYLINE
SMU	-9.5 (-110)	157.5 (-110o / -110u)	-530
TULANE	+9.5 (-110)	157.5 (-110o / -110u)	+390

SMU vs Tulane Head-to-Head

SMU vs. Tulane's men's basketball head-to-head goes back to at least the 1949-1950 season (via Sports-Reference). And since that year, the Mustangs and the Green Wave have met each other on the hardwood a total of 43 times. So far, SMU handily leads the series, 26-17.

The last seven seasons have also been in favor of the Mustangs--but not really. From 2016 to last year, SMU still won 10 of the last 14 meetings. But the Green Wave swept them during the 2023 season, as they lost both games handily (88-97, then 52-74).