Houston vs Oregon State College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/29/21

The Oregon State Beavers and the Houston Cougars meet Monday in college basketball action from Lucas Oil Stadium. 

Coming into this NCAA Tournament Elite Eight matchup, Oregon State sits at 20-12 overall. The Beavers are coming off a tournament win over Loyola Chicago on Saturday. As for Houston, they’re 26-3 this year. The Cougars took out Syracuse in their Saturday matchup. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Oregon State was fighting to stay above the .500 mark for much of the season, but they’ve really turned it on over the last month or so. The Beavers rolled through the conference tournament with wins in all three outings, and since then they’ve taken out Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola Chicago in the national tourney. 

In the 65-58 win over Loyola on Saturday, Oregon State held a 24-16 edge at the break and were able to hold the advantage in the second half with a 65-58 result. Leading the way for the Beavers was Ethan Thompson with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. 

Over on the Houston side, there hasn’t been much to complain about this season. The Cougars haven’t lost consecutive games all year, and they’re sitting on a 10-game win streak. Houston has taken out Cleveland State, Rutgers and Syracuse in the national tournament so far. 

In the Saturday tournament matchup versus Syracuse, Houston jumped out to a nice 30-20 edge at the break and only stretched it from there in a 62-46 win. Leading the team in scoring was Quentin Grimes with 14 points, four rebounds and one assist. 

The Beavers are 5-0 ATS in their last five after a straight-up win and 6-0 ATS in their last six neutral-site games. Oregon State is 20-6-1 ATS in their last 27 games overall and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 Monday games. 

Meanwhile, the Cougars are 3-0-1 ATS in their salt four Monday games and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 overall. Houston is 5-2 ATS in their last seven NCAA Tournament games and 13-5 ATS in their last 18 after a straight-up win. 

PICK: I’m likely going to stick with Oregon State here. The Beavers are 9-1 over their last 10 games and playing well against anyone who steps on the court. Oregon State’s offense has hit 70 or more points in seven of their last nine outings, and they’ve been able to control teams on the defensive side as well. This Elite Eight matchup versus Houston is certainly going to be a tough outing, but I think the Beavers can hang around. Should be a fun one.