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The Texas Longhorns clash with the Houston Cougars at the Moody Center on Monday. Texas will be looking to bounce back from a loss at BYU on Saturday. Houston is looking to extend their winning streak to five. In our latest NCAAB betting picks, we tell you if the Longhorns can stop the Cougars.
- What; 2023/24 NCAA Men’s Basketball
- Who; Texas Longhorns vs. Houston Cougars
- Where; Moody Center, Austin, Texas
- When; Monday, January 29th 2024
- Tip-Off; 9 pm ET
This is a Big 12 showdown between two colleges at opposite ends of the Conference table.
The Longhorns’ cross-town rival, Texas Tech, currently tops the Conference table. But the Cougars are hot on the heels of the Red Raiders and could replace them at the top this week if results go their way.
The Texas Longhorns are in a mix of colleges, all with a 3-4 record. They need to get on a winning run soon if they are going to challenge at the top end of the table.
Latest betting to win the Big 12
Despite sitting second in the table, the Houston Cougars are the favorites to win the Big 12 at -150.
Iowa State and Texas Tech are at odds of +550. Kansas are at +900, TCU at +1600, and Baylor at +2000. For the optimists out there, the Longhorns are +10000.
Betting to win the Men’s 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship
In the betting to win the Men’s NCAA Championship, the best college basketball betting sites still favor the Purdue Boilermakers at +900.
The Boilermakers’ closest rivals are the Houston Cougars at +950. Houston has replaced UConn as the second favorite. The Huskies are now +1000.
Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee are all +1200. Arizona is +1600, with Auburn at +1800, having slipped from +1600 following back-to-back defeats at Alabama and MS State.
Texas Longhorns vs. Houston Cougars Match Betting
The latest NCAAB betting lines favor the Houston Cougars. At the time of writing, Bovada has the Cougars at -170 on the money line. The Texas Longhorns are +150.
On the handicap spread, the Longhorns are receiving a 5-point advantage. To win with the spread, Texas is -110. To win and cover the 5-point spread, Houston is -110.
The total points amount is a low looking 129. Over and under are both -110. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA basketball betting sites.
| Texas vs. Houston |  |  |  |
| Texas | +150 | N/A | N/A |
| Houston | -170 | N/A | N/A |
| Texas (+5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Houston (-5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 129 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 129 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Texas Longhorns vs. Houston Cougars; Latest Form
The Longhorns sit 10th in the Big 12 with a Conference record of 3-4. Overall this season, Texas is 14-6 with a home record of 10-2.
In their last outing, the Longhorns were well beaten by the BYU Cougars (84-72) at the Marriott Center on Saturday. The defeat came after an impressive midweek 75-60 win over Oklahoma, a victory that followed a hard-earned 75-73 win over Baylor at the Moody Center the previous Saturday.
In their last five matches, the Longhorns have lost three and won two. Put simply, they are a very inconsistent team.
The Cougars sit second in the Big 12 with a 5-2 Conference record. They are currently on a winning streak of four.
Three of the four wins came at the Fertitta Center, with one road trip win away at the Marriott Center over BYU (75-68) on Tuesday. The home wins were against Texas Tech (77-54), UCF (57-42), and Kansas State (74-52) on Saturday.
COOGS WIN!
presented by @thejointchiro𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓@Thejshead | 17 pts | 3 asts@JWanRoberts13 | 14 pts | 6 rebs | 2 asts@Dam1anKD | 13 pts | 4 Rebs
NEXT – at rv/rv Texas, 8 pm Monday, Austin, Texas pic.twitter.com/RCF3OtaItC
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 27, 2024
Overall, the Cougars are 18-2 this season. On the road, Houston is 2-2.
Texas Longhorns vs. Houston Cougars Betting Picks
The Longhorns will need to rely on their home form if they are going to improve their Conference record and move up the table.
A 10-2 record is impressive. But the two defeats would have been bitterly disappointing. The first was a 78-67 loss to local rivals Texas Tech in early January. The second was a 77-71 loss to the UCF Knights just under two weeks ago.
What made the defeat to the Knights all the worse was the capitulation suffered by the Longhorns. Texas was 44-32 up at the halfway stage. But they simply collapsed in the second period, conceding 45 points while only scoring 27 themselves.
Expected to win…and we did.
🎥 Highlights: UCF 77, Texas 71 pic.twitter.com/IfLJmNtKMS
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) January 18, 2024
The two losses have come against colleges not expected to be in the running to win the NCAA Championship. Okay, that may be a touch harsh on Texas Tech. But they are +2200 to make the Final Four, never mind win the Championship. As for UCF, they are +20000 twelfth favorites to win the Big 12. If the Longhorns are losing at home to these sides, then what chance have they got against the Cougars?
Inconsistency vs. Consistency
There have been some impressive performances of late from Texas. But there have been some stinkers as well. On the flip side, the Cougars are consistent. You get the same from them week in and week out.
A win for Houston looks nailed on. Can they cover a 5-point spread? Well, when you look at -170 on the money line, it’s easy to see that the Cougars to win and cover the spread is the better value betting pick.
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