The Houston Cougars (15-1) travel to meet the East Carolina Pirates (7-6) at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for a 6 p.m. ET tip Wednesday. Below, we analyze the Houston-East Carolina college basketball odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Houston at East Carolina: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Houston -3000 (bet $3,000 to win $100) | East Carolina +1200 (bet $100 to win $1,200)
- Against the spread/ATS: Houston -16.5 (-110) | East Carolina +16.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 129.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Houston at East Carolina: Three things to know
- Houston is coming off a 70-48 win over SMU last time out Jan. 31, covering a 9.5-point number. They also won their previous two road games at Tulane and Temple by an average of 20.0 points per game.
- The Cougars have won eight consecutive games since their lone setback at Tulsa Dec. 29, 65-64. Houston also enters on a six-game cover streak.
- East Carolina was knocked off by Tulsa 77-68 at Minges, and they enter on a five-game losing streak. They have also failed to cover in each of those five outings, and they’re just 1-8 ATS across the past nine games overall.
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Houston at East Carolina: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Houston 81, East Carolina 59
Money line (ML)
Houston (-3000) will cost you $30 for every $1 in winnings. It’s not worth the risk in the event a miracle happens. You know better. AVOID.
Against the spread (ATS)
HOUSTON -16.5 (-110) has had no problems ticking off covers as a double-digit favorite. In fact, they’re 5-0 ATS across the past five such situations. The Cougars don’t roll up a ton of points, as they’re only averaging a mediocre 74.1 PPG. But UH ranks No. 1 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 56.0 PPG, No. 1 in defensive field-goal percentage at 36.2 and No. 2 against the 3-pointer allowing just 24.8 percent success from behind the arc. That doesn’t bode well for an East Carolina +16.5 (-110) side that struggles to score the basketball.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 129.5 (-110) might be my favorite play on the board for the entire college hoops slate Wednesday. Yes, Houston doesn’t score a lot of points, but they’re good for at least 80 in this one. Even if the Pirates score 15 below their season average of 67.8 PPG, this game cashes an Over ticket rather easily.
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