It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Tennessee-Houston prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Tennessee-Houston.
The Houston Cougars were thrown into the fire on Friday night. They had to play Purdue in Indianapolis in front of a loud pro-Boilermaker crowd. Houston clearly felt the pressure and stress of the game. The Cougars played a mediocre first half, built a 10-point lead midway through the second half, and then labored down the stretch. They lost all of their 10-point lead. They went more than four minutes without making a field goal. They watched Purdue tie the score at 60 in the final minute. Then came one last chance to avoid getting roped into overtime, in which Purdue quite possibly would have had the advantage.
UH coach Kelvin Sampson drew up an inbound play under Purdue’s basket in which a cutter drew the Purdue defender away from the Houston inbounder and over to the left of the basket. Houston’s Milos Uzan was the inbounder. He was able to make a bounce pass to a teammate who quickly flipped the ball back to Uzan for a layup with 0.9 seconds left. The brilliantly designed play with its misdirection component enabled Houston to grab a 62-60 win and silence the Purdue fans who did not have to travel far for this game.
Having endured a hostile crowd in the Midwest Regional semifinals, Houston will attempt to relax and play a better game in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Standing in Houston’s way is a very motivated Tennessee team which shredded Kentucky on Friday night.
Tennessee jumped to a 10-point lead in the early going and built on that advantage. The Vols were never threatened in a shockingly easy win. Tennessee has never been to the Final Four. The Vols are playing for history on Sunday.
Here are the Tennessee-Houston College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
2025 March Madness Tournament Odds: Tennessee-Houston Odds
Tennessee: +2.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +128
Houston: -2.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -154
Over: 123.5 (-115)
Under: 123.5 (-105)
How to Watch Tennessee vs Houston
Time: 2:20 p.m. ET/11:20 a.m. PT
TV: CBS
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Tennessee Will Cover The Spread/Win
Tennessee has played better than Houston at this tournament. It has played better than most of the teams left in the Elite Eight. Auburn and Michigan State have been inconsistent, as has Alabama. Texas Tech is lucky to be in the Elite Eight. Florida very nearly lost to UConn in the second round. Tennessee has steadily made its way through the bracket and just hammered a Kentucky team which beat the Vols twice in the regular season. Tennessee wants that first Final Four, and the Volunteers are certainly playing like a team with its eyes on the prize. It is not easy to bet against this team right now, given how well it has been playing. Houston has been decent but not great. The Cougars have wobbled late in games versus Gonzaga and Purdue. They aren’t playing their best ball right now. Tennessee is the ascendant and superior team in this matchup.
Why Houston Will Cover The Spread/Win
Houston did wobble against Purdue, but let’s remember: That was basically a road game for Houston. There will be plenty of Tennessee fans in the building for this game, but it won’t be quite like what UH faced against Purdue. There will be a more even split of fans in the arena. Houston should be able to play a better, more relaxed game than what we saw against Purdue. Notably, L.J. Cryer shot the ball very poorly against Purdue’s defense. Chances are he will shoot better against the Vols. Better games from Cryer and J’Wan Roberts should enable Houston to win this game. The spread is very small. Houston just needs to win by at least three points to cover. Given how consistent Houston has been, that’s a good bet to make.
Final Tennessee-Houston Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Houston, but this is fundamentally a coin-flip game. Wait for a late second half play.
Final Tennessee-Houston Prediction & Pick: Houston -2.5
The post Tennessee vs Houston prediction, odds, pick for Men’s March Madness 2025 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
