The Houston Cougars take on the Towson Tigers in Charleston, as part of the early-season tournament known as the Charleston Classic. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Houston Towson prediction and pick. Find how to watch Houston Towson.

The Houston Cougars figure to be in the mix for the Final Four once again. They might not have the raw offensive firepower they possessed in previous seasons due to a few key departures, but they still know how to defend and rebound at an elite level. Coach Kelvin Sampson has built this program to the point that the Cougars always reload. They don't rebuild. They field elite teams on a regular basis. Making the 2021 Final Four took this program to the next level. Houston has made the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons, making the Elite Eight twice. It is a program which exists on a different plane, recalling the early-1980s glory days for the program under previous head coach and Houston basketball icon Guy V. Lewis.

Towson is off to a 2-1 start, having lost to a very good Colorado team. It will be fascinating to see if Towson is able to use that Colorado loss as a building block against a Houston team which is expected to be even better than Colorado. CU is a top-25-level team. Houston is viewed as a top-15 team. Can Towson translate its learning experience against a good team into a strong performance against an opponent with the potential to be great? We'll find out in one of the first-round games of the Charleston Classic, part of the early-season glut of neutral-site tournaments in college basketball.

Here are the Houston-Towson College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Houston-Towson Odds

Houston Cougars: -20.5 (-104)

Towson Tigers: +20.5 (-118)

Over: 124.5 (-110)

Under: 124.5 (-110)

How To Watch Houston vs Towson

Time: 6:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm PT

TV: ESPN2

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Houston Could Cover the Spread

The Cougars look solid early in the season, and they know that as they move into this tournament, they want to make short work of their opponent so that they can rest their starters for Friday's second game of the tournament. Houston has not had very stressful games to this point in the season, setting the table for a situation in which this team should be able to play its very best.

When we consider the fact that Towson lost to Colorado by 18 points — 75-57 — we can then conclude that if Houston is better than Colorado (which most people in college basketball would agree with), Houston should be able to cover a 20.5-point spread on a neutral floor.

Why Towson Could Cover the Spread

The point spread is large, and since Towson has actually played a tougher schedule than Houston to this point in the young season, the Tigers might be sharpened enough to deliver a vigorous and robust performance against the Cougars, who are not a proven team at the offensive end of the floor. Houston does play great defense, and the Cougars rebound really well, but we don't yet know how good this UH team will be on offense. That is a huge question mark surrounding Kelvin Sampson's group. Towson will view this game as a huge opportunity and will throw the kitchen sink at Houston in terms of both tactics and effort. Covering the huge spread is very realistic here.

Final Houston-Towson Prediction & Pick

This feels like a game in which you should wait for the first 10 minutes to play out and then seek a live-betting opportunity.

Final Houston-Towson Prediction & Pick: Houston -20.5