The SIU Edwardsville Cougars take on the Houston Cougars in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on TBS.
Houston is favored by 28.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -20000. The total is set at 126.5 points.
Here are my SIU Edwardsville vs. Houston predictions and college basketball picks for March 20, 2025.
SIU Edwardsville vs Houston Prediction
My Pick: SIU Edwardsville Under 49.5 Total Points (-120)
My SIU Edwardsville vs Houston best bet is on the Cougars team total under, with the best odds currently available at FanDuel. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
SIUE vs Houston Odds, Spread, Pick
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- SIU Edwardsville vs Houston spread: Houston -28.5
- SIU Edwardsville vs Houston over/under: 126.5 points
- SIU Edwardsville vs Houston moneyline: Houston -20000, SIU Edwardsville +2800
- SIU Edwardsville vs Houston best bet: SIU Edwardsville Under 49.5 Total Points (-120)
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My SIU Edwardsville vs Houston NCAA Tournament Betting Preview
SIU Edwardsville Basketball
Brian Barone is now in his sixth season as head coach at SIU Edwardsville. His predecessors didn’t enjoy a ton of success after the program moved up to Division I for the 2009-10 season.
Barone didn’t get off to a great start either, going 8-23 in his first season, but his teams have steadily improved.
That culmination has come this season, as the Cougars have won 20 games for the first time in 19 years. SIU Edwardsville defeated SE Missouri 69-48 in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship game to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
In the championship game, Ray’Sean Taylor scored 20 points to become the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,952 points. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season.
SIUE had the fourth-best offense in the OVC, but it wouldn’t be considered a strength on a national level. The Cougars rank 255th in Division I in adjusted offense efficiency, 271st in effective field goal percentage and 296th in 2-point field goal percentage.
The Cougars will likely have a hard time scoring against a Houston defense that ranks in the top five in all three categories.
However, SIUE may be able to hold its own at the other end. It ranks 38th in effective field goal percentage defense and 23rd in 2-point field goal percentage defense.
Additionally, every other significant contributor other than Taylor is 6-foot-4 or taller, so it won’t be undersized against the top-seeded Cougars.
Houston Basketball
There may not be a tougher program in the country than Houston, a mentality instilled from head coach Kelvin Sampson.
Two years in the Big 12 — one of the most challenging conferences in the country — hasn’t been much of a problem for Houston thus far. It’s 34-4 with two Big 12 regular season titles over the last two years.
It claimed the Big 12 Tournament title this year as well, with a 72-64 victory over Arizona last Saturday.
The Cougars have won 30 games in five of the last seven years, earning a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance in each of the last three years. This year’s bunch is 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency and second in adjusted defensive efficiency.
That formula may have the Cougars cutting down the nets in San Antonio in a few weeks.
Houston plays at one of the slowest paces in the country (360th in adjusted tempo), yet it still has four double-digit scorers, led by guards LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan.
Cryer (averaging 15.2 PPG) has scored 20 points in five of his last eight games. Between Baylor and Houston, he’s played in eight NCAA Tournament games, and his experience will be key for Houston’s run this year.
Sharp scored 15 points in all three of Houston’s Big 12 Tournament games, but it was Uzan who led the way against Arizona with 25.
Forward J’Wan Roberts leads the Cougars with 6.3 rebounds per game, guiding a group that’s 15th in offensive rebounding percentage.
Houston just crushes teams on the glass.
SIU Edwardsville vs. Houston Betting Analysis
With two teams that rank outside the top 250 in adjusted tempo, don’t expect many possessions in this game.
Additionally, Houston is second in Division I in scoring defense. It held six of its 12 non-conference opponents below 50 points and three others to 51, 51 and 54 points.
It also held Longwood to 46 points and Northern Kentucky to 52 in its past two games against 16 seeds.
Houston should be able to limit SIUE from scoring in the paint. SIUE isn’t prolific enough from the outside to overcome that.
Due to these factors, I don’t expect SIUE to reach 50 points in this game.
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