Tag: Baylor Bears vs. Houston Cougars odds predictions pick betting line spread

Houston at Baylor NCAA Tournament Final Four Odds, Picks and Prediction

The Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars take the court in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a chance to play in the championship game on the line

The Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars take the court in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a chance to play in the championship game on the line. Bookmakers have installed Baylor as 5.5-point favorites for the contest, at which begins at a time to be announced (airing on CBS).

In their last game, the Bears picked up a 81-72 win over Arkansas and covered the 8-point spread they were favored by. The teams went over the 147.5 point total set by oddsmakers. MaCio Teague put up a team-high 22 points in the victory on Monday.

Marcus Sasser led the way for the Cougars with a team-high 20 points last time out as they picked up a 67-61 win over Oregon State and failed to cover the 8-point spread as favorites. The teams combined to hit the under on the 130 point total set for the matchup.

Houston at Baylor: Betting odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list.
Lines last updated at 1 PM ET on April 3, 2021.

  • Money line: Houston +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Baylor -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Houston +5.5 (-110) | Baylor -5.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under: 135 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Baylor: Three things to know

  • The Bears scoring leader is Jared Butler, who contributes 16.5 points per game. Butler is the top three-point shooter for the team, hitting 2.5 per game.
  • The Bears record 25.4 more points per game (83) than the Cougars give up (57.6).
  • Baylor has a 16-0-1 record against the spread and a 26-2 record overall when putting up more than 57.6 points.

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Houston: Three things to know

  • Quentin Grimes leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. Grimes paces the squad with a team-high 3.4 made three-pointers per game.
  • The Cougars’ 76.6 points per game are 11.1 more points than the 65.5 the Bears give up to opponents.
  • Houston is 24-1 overall and 17-0 against the spread in games where it scores more than 65.5 points.

Houston at Baylor: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Houston 71, Baylor 70

Money line

The model favors the Cougars to win matchup, disagreeing with BetMGM’s money line favorite.

Against the spread (ATS)

The data strongly suggests betting on the Cougars in this one. The model favors them while MGM has the Bears favored and the difference between the two is 6.5 points.

Over/Under (O/U)

The MGM point total for this game is just 6.0 points lower than the model projection.

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March Madness: Baylor vs. Houston odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Friday’s Baylor Bears vs. Houston Cougars odds and lines, with March Madness Final Four picks and predictions.

The No. 1-seed Baylor Bears (26-2) tangle with the No. 2 Houston Cougars (28-3) Saturday in the Final Four’s first semifinal. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:14 p.m. ET at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. Below, we analyze the Baylor-Houston odds and lines, with March Madness NCAA Tournament picks and predictions.

Baylor has defeated Hartford, Wisconsin, Villanova and Arkansas to reach the Final Four. The Bears’ win over Arkansas in the Elite Eight was a technical knockout, with BU leading wire-to-wire and keeping a stranglehold on a multi-possession lead almost the whole way.

Tournament time has brought out the best of the Bears in two key facets of the game: Baylor is taking better care of the ball (6.8 turnovers per game) and playing improved defense (43.1% field-goal percentage allowed) compared to some relative struggles in February and early-March.

Houston has survived two scares in the tournament with late-game slides against Rutgers and Oregon State. Strong rebounding performances, good passing, and winning turnover battles have helped the Cougars overcome iffy shooting. UH is shooting just 38.8% from the floor for the tournament.

Baylor vs. Houston: Odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 1:25 p.m. ET.

  • Money line: Baylor -225 (bet $225 to win $100) | Houston +190 (bet $100 to win $190)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Baylor -5.5 (-110) | Houston +5.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under: 135 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Baylor vs. Houston: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Baylor 70, Houston 68

Money line (ML)

The Lone Star State matchup figures to be closer than the way the odds lay. Its been a bumpy road for Houston, but the reason the Cougars prevail without shooting lights out is what makes them so dangerous as a spoiler. UH can shoot under 40% in a game but still win because the Cougars do everything else — a ton of little things — at a high level.

The Cougars ride momentum and confidence into this game, and the few days of rest possibly come as a reset to their shooting woes. Houston does two things well that figure to give the Bears fits — it hits the offensive glass hard and can get out in transition and bunch some points together on turnovers.

Maybe turnovers haven’t been a problem in recent bracket action for Baylor but the Bears haven’t played a defense like this either.

Houston can block shots, steal away possessions, and rebound its way to a National Championship.

Take the COUGARS (+190).

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Against the spread (ATS)

UH is 7-1 ATS in its last eight neutral-site games as an underdog. The Cougars are 11-2 ATS over their last 13 games overall as dogs.

Peg this one as a one-possession game with Baylor squeaking by or losing outright.

Take HOUSTON +5.5 (-110).

Over/Under (O/U)

Signals crop up on both sides of the O/U ledger and there’s just the slightest lean toward the Over 135 (-110). A PASS IS SUGGESTED.

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