Houston vs Cincinnati Prediction 3/1/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Houston Cougars meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Fertitta Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Cincinnati vs. Houston prediction.

Matchup History

These two teams have not met so far this season, but last time they squared off back on February 27^th, 2024 in Houston, the Cougars won by a final score of 67-59, making it 11 straight wins for the Cougars in this head-to-head matchup.

Cincinnati Recap

The Cincinnati Bearcats come into this game looking to add on to their 69-67 win over Baylor in their last game to sit at 17-11 overall this season. After this game, Cincinnati will head home for a game against Kansas State.

Bearcats Win Back-To-Back Games & 5 Of Last 7

Jizzle James leads Cincinnati in scoring and assists with 12.6 PPG and 3.8 APG along with 3 RPG while Simas Lukosius has 11.2 PPG with 3 RPG and 2.3 APG. Dillon Mitchell has 10.2 PPG with a team-high 6.6 RPG to lead the Bearcats on the glass and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Cincinnati so far this season. Dan Skillings Jr. has 9.3 PPG with 3.7 RPG while Day Day Thomas has 8.8 PPG with 2.7 APG and Aziz Bandaogo has 7.7 PPG with 6 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 71.6 PPG on 45.5% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three and 66.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Cincinnati Bearcats will win

• Cincinnati has won nine of its last 10 games when playing with a rest disadvantage.

Houston Recap

The Houston Cougars come into this game looking to add on to their 69-61 win over Texas Tech last time out to sit at 24-4 on the year. After this game, Houston will welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to town.

Cougars Win 7 In A Row

L.J. Cryer leads the Cougars in scoring with 14.6 PPG while Emanuel Sharp has 11.9 PPG with 2.9 RPG. J’Wan Roberts has 11.4 PPG with a team-high 6.4 RPG to lead the Cougars on the glass up to this point in the year while Milos Uzan has added 11.1 PPG with 3.2 RPG and a team-high 4.6 APG to lead Houston in assists, rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for Houston so far this season. Terrance Arceneaux has 7.8 PPG with 3.2 RPG and Joseph Tugler’s added 5.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG. As a team, Houston’s averaging 74.9 PPG on 46.2% shooting from the field, 40.2% from three and 73.7% from the foul line this season.

Why the Houston Cougars will win

• Houston has won each of its last 32 games at Fertitta Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Cincinnati has lost each of its last 18 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Twelve of Cincinnati’s last 13 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 126+ points.
• Seven of Houston’s last eight games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 127+ points.

Cincinnati vs. Houston Prediction

I’m on Cincinnati and the points here. I think that Houston is the better team, but Cincinnati’s been a lot more competitive as of late, to the point that it’s gotten the Bearcats back onto the bubble and in the NCAA tournament discussion. Houston’s still a defensive-minded team and in a game where I think possessions could be limited and so could points, I think every single point is more and more valuable. I’ll take the points with Cincinnati here.