Houston vs Cincinnati Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today’s College Basketball Game

The 8th-ranked Houston Cougars open conference play rolling, looking for a seventh straight win overall as they visit the Cincinnati Bearcats.
 
Cincy hasn’t strung together back-to-back wins over its last nine games, part of the reason they’re 7-point home ‘dogs in the college basketball odds.
 
With little juice on the Cougs winning outright, my Houston vs Cincinnati prediction and free college basketball picks have this turning into a low-scoring rock fight.

Houston vs Cincinnati prediction

Houston vs Cincinnati best bet: Under 135.5 (-110)

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Houston has just one loss on the year, and they’re powered, as usual, by a powerful defense that smothers the opposition.
 
The Cougars wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 69-60 win over Middle Tennessee, a game that head coach Kelvin Sampson thought they were outplayed in.
 
And while that may be a wakeup call to his troops, it might also be the team looking ahead to Cincinnati.
 
Houston leads the Big 12 in scoring defense and sits third nationally at 60 points per game, and ranks inside the Top 30 in field goal defense (38.8%) and Top 40 in 3-point shooting defense (29%).
 
It’s that defense that’s propping up the offense, which sits 13th in the Big 12 in scoring, while ranking second last in both field goal and 3-point shooting in the conference.
 
Their company down there? The Cincinnati Bearcats, who rank dead last in the Big 12 in scoring (75.8 points), field goal shooting, and 3-point shooting.
 
Like the Cougars, the Bearcats also have a tough defense, allowing just 65.5 points per game, but they’ve played a far lighter slate, with KenPom ranking their strength of schedule at 253rd.
 
Houston has owned this head-to-head, winning 10 straight games, but has failed to cover the spread in four of the last five, so we’re going to target the total, which has gone Under in six of the last eight meetings.
 
The Bearcats have gone Under in their last four, but this is by far the most menacing defense they…

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Publish date : 2026-01-03 12:47:00

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