The Duke Blue Devils (26-8) and Houston Cougars (32-4) meet Friday in Sweet 16 action in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from the American Airlines Center is slated for 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s'lines around the Duke vs. Houston odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The 4th-seeded Blue Devils rolled up a 93-55 win against the 12th-seeded James Madison Dukes in the 2nd round, after coasting by the 13th-seeded Vermont Catamounts 64-47 in the 1st round. Duke has covered both games in the NCAA Tournament, and the Under is 3-0 in the postseason, and 11-2 across the past 13 games.
The top-seeeded Cougars collapsed in the final couple of minutes in the 2nd round against 9-seed Texas A&M, as the Aggies had a flurry of points late to force overtime. Houston hung on for the 100-95 win in the extra session, but it failed to cover as an 8.5-point favorite as the Over (135.5) cashed. Houston has averaged 93.0 PPG in 2 NCAA Tournament games, while the Over has cashed in each outing.
Duke was No. 14 and Houston was No. 2 in the final of the regular season.