The Texas Southern Tigers take on the Houston Cougars. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Texas Southern Houston prediction and pick.
The Texas Southern Tigers trailed the Arizona State Sun Devils by 11 points, at 50-39, midway through the second half of this past Sunday's game in the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, a collection of games between a power conference and a mid-major conference. Colorado had already lost to Grambling, so surely — surely — the Pac-12 would not lose another game in this crossover series between two unlikely conference partners. Arizona State has had some very solid defensive teams in recent years under head coach Bobby Hurley. The Sun Devils' offense has not been particularly good, but the defense has often performed reasonably well. The Devils had put the clamps on the Tigers, and it seemed highly unlikely that Texas Southern could mount a rally.
Yet, that's exactly what happened.
Texas Southern's offense improved and the Tigers made big shots and free throws down the stretch to nip Arizona State at the wire. The 67-66 win was impressive on its own terms — beating a Pac-12 team under any circumstances is huge for the Texas Southern program — but doing it the way they did it only adds to the enormity of the accomplishment for the Tigers.
This is a program with a winning culture. Texas Southern won the SWAC Tournament championship last season. Johnny Jones knows how to get the most out of his players. Jones flopped as the head coach of LSU, but at Texas Southern in a smaller conference, he has found a comfortable fit where he can match wits with opposing coaches and give his players positive solutions. Texas Southern has to love how this season has begun.
Houston looks like a Final Four contender, though one must admit the Cougars have not yet played high-end opponents. Why can we say this? First of all, while North Carolina and other high-profile programs are struggling against weaker opponents, Houston is most certainly not doing that. The Cougars are stomping on opponents and are putting them away. This is the Kelvin Sampson difference. He coaches hard at all times. You generally do not see this team slack off, even when the margin is large in the second half, as we saw against Oral Roberts earlier this week. Houston had a 27-point lead at halftime and kept pushing hard to nudge its lead over 30 points. This team goes hard all the time, and that's why UH has become such a good program. Houston made the Final Four in 2021 and the Elite Eight last year. That's no fluke or accident.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Texas Southern-Houston College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Texas Southern-Houston Odds
Texas Southern Tigers: +31.5 (-110)
Houston Cougars: -31.5 (-110)
Over: 132.5 (-106)
Under: 132.5 (-114)
Why Texas Southern Could Cover the Spread
This is a good team which is full of confidence after the comeback win over Arizona State. Texas Southern is a capable defensive team which can prevent Houston's offense from dominating this game. The point spread is really large for a mid-major team which is as capable as Texas Southern.
Why Houston Could Cover the Spread
The Cougars might lead by 30 with five minutes left in the game. Some teams might relax, but Houston won't. The Cougars' ability to dominate for 40 minutes, not just 35, will enable them to cover the spread.
Final Texas Southern-Houston Prediction & Pick
This game figures to be a defense-first contest, and that fact makes it slightly more likely that Texas Southern can contain the margin just enough to cover.
Final Texas Southern-Houston Prediction & Pick: Texas Southern +31.5
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