The 9th-seeded East Carolina Pirates (16-16) take on the No. 1 Houston Cougars (29-2) in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament Friday. The contest at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth will tip off at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the East Carolina vs. Houston odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
East Carolina defeated South Florida 73-58 Thursday in the first round. To advance in these conference brackets, ECU will not only need to topple the top seed but will need to do something it only did once in the final 18 games of the regular season: win back-to-back games.
Houston — the top-ranked team in the nation — defeated the Pirates 76-57 Feb. 25. The Cougars have done nothing but win successive games since losing Jan. 22. UH enters on an 11-game win streak with a 15.5-point average margin of victory.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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East Carolina vs. Houston odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:11 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: East Carolina +1300 (bet $100 to win $1,300) | Houston -4500 (bet $4,500 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): East Carolina +22.5 (-105) | Houston -22.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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East Carolina at Houston picks and predictions
Prediction
Houston 79, East Carolina 55
Moneyline
No interest here. PASS.
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Against the spread
Houston failed to cover a 20.5-point spread when these programs met Feb. 25. However, the Cougars did not shoot the ball all that well in that game (48.5% eFG), nor did they get to the foul line much. Still, UH led by more-than-21 points multiple times in the final minutes.
This Cougars team picks apart bad defenses, and from an efficiency standpoint, ECU is a bottom-3-in-the-AAC squad.
BACK HOUSTON -22.5 (-115).
Over/Under
Varying game speeds and wildly fluctuating efficiency levels competing here. No lean either way: PASS.
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