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The San Diego State Aztecs (3-2) and the No. 7 Houston Cougars (4-2) meet in the Players Era Festival third-place game Sunday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET (TNT). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s college basketball odds around the San Diego State Aztecs vs. Houston Cougars odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
San Diego State roughed up Creighton in the opener of the tourney, posting a 71-53 win as a 4.5-point underdog as the Under (140.5) cashed. The Aztecs were humbled 78-68 by Oregon Wednesday as a 3.5-point underdog as the Over (138) hit for the first time in 4 games this season.
Houston suffered a disappointing 85-80 loss in OT Tuesday in a top-10 battle in the tourney opener. The Cougars bounced back with a 65-54 win over Notre Dame, but UH didn’t come close to cover as a 17-point favorite as the Under (134.5) connected.
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San Diego State vs. Houston odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college basketball odds. Lines last updated at 11:55 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): San Diego State +625 (bet $100 to win $625) | Houston -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread: San Diego State +12.5 (-110) | Houston -12.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 125.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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San Diego State vs. Houston picks and predictions
Prediction
Houston 65 San Diego State 57
Moneyline
Houston (-1000) will cost you 10 times your potential return, and that’s way too much risk on a singular bet or as part of a multi-leg parlay.
PASS, and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
Play SAN DIEGO STATE +12.5 (-110) catching the points. It should be able to keep this one within single digits.
Houston -12.5 (-110) does with a deliberate and methodical offense, while locking it down on the defensive end. It has failed to cover in the past 2 games, while going 2-3 ATS in the past 5 outings.
For San Diego State, it is 1-3 ATS in 4 games to date, while going 1-2 ATS in 3 games as an underdog, so be careful.
Over/Under
UNDER 125.5 (-115) is worth a look, even though this is a low number, and it has dropped 4 points.
Again, Houston likes to slow it down, and San Diego State is generally not in any hurry, either.
The Under cashed in the first 3 games for the Aztecs, including the tourney opener with Creighton. The Over cashed last time out against Oregon, however, so don’t get carried away.
The Over-Under has split in 2 games in this tournament for UH, with the Over cashing in the Alabama game which went to OT. The total has gone low in 3 of the past 4 games for the Cougars.
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