The No. 2 Houston Cougars will be looking to make their case for the top spot in next week’s polls when they face the SMU Mustangs on Thursday night. Houston has rattled off five straight wins and has a chance to jump No. 1 Purdue in the rankings following the Boilermakers’ loss to Rutgers on Monday. SMU has won three of its last four games, including a 92-67 win over Tulsa on Sunday.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Cougars are favored by 20 points in the latest Houston vs. SMU odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 130.5. Before entering any SMU vs. Houston picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters Week 9 of the season 30-16 on all top-rated college basketball picks, returning more than $800 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Houston vs. SMU. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Houston vs. SMU:
- Houston vs. SMU spread: Houston -20
- Houston vs. SMU over/under: 130 points
- Houston vs. SMU money line: Houston -4000, SMU +1400
- Houston vs. SMU picks: See picks here
Featured Game | Houston Cougars vs. SMU Mustangs
Why Houston can cover
Houston opened the season with nine consecutive wins before suffering its lone loss against then-No. 8 Alabama on Dec. 10. The Cougars have bounced back with a five-game winning streak, and they are now in a position to take over as the top-ranked team in the country following No. 1 Purdue’s loss earlier this week. They beat then-No. 2 Virginia in mid-December and are coming off a 71-65 win against UCF.
Senior guard Marcus Sasser leads Houston with 15.9 points and 2.7 assists per game, while junior guard Tramon Mark is scoring 10.1 points and grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The balanced rotation features five other players scoring at least 6.5 points per game, while most of SMU’s scoring comes from its top two players. Houston has covered the spread in 14 of its last 20 games, including eight of its last 10 AAC games.
Why SMU can cover
SMU got off to a slow start earlier this season, but it is playing its best basketball of the season coming into this game. The Mustangs have won three of their last four games, including a pair of big upsets. They took down Iona as 9.5-point underdogs on Dec. 22 before upsetting Utah State as 12.5-point underdogs on Dec. 23.
The Mustangs proceeded to cover the 4.5-point spread in their 58-57 loss to Hawaii, and they breezed past Tulsa in a 92-67 final as 7.5-point favorites. They have now covered the spread in five consecutive games, making them an undervalued team heading into Thursday’s showdown. Sophomore guard Zhuric Phelps leads SMU with 18.4 points per game, while senior guard Zach Nutall is scoring 14.4 points per game.
How to make SMU vs. Houston picks
The model has simulated Houston vs. SMU 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins SMU vs. Houston? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 30-16 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.
