The Utah Utes take on the Houston Cougars in Houston, TX. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Houston is favored by 18.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -2100. The total is set at 133.5 points.
Here are my Utah vs. Houston predictions and college basketball picks for January 22, 2025.
Utah vs Houston Prediction
My Pick: PASS | Lean Houston -17.5
My Utah vs Houston best bet is on the Cougars spread, with the best odds currently available at BetRivers. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Utah vs Houston Odds
| Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+18.5 -112 | 133.5 -110o / -110u | +1100 |
| Houston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-18.5 -108 | 133.5 -110o / -110u | -2100 |
- Utah vs Houston spread: Houston -18.5
- Utah vs Houston over/under: 133.5 points
- Utah vs Houston moneyline: Houston -2100, Utah +1100
- Utah vs Houston best bet: PASS | Lean Houston -17.5
Spread
I'm passing on this game, but if I felt compelled, I would back the Cougars.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm passing on the over/under.
My Pick: PASS | Lean Houston -17.5
Utah vs Houston College Basketball Betting Preview
Houston looked shaky against UCF, allowing the Knights to hang around by crashing the offensive glass en route to 15 second-chance points.
However, the Cougars shot just 3-for-16 (19%) from 3, which is pretty unrepresentative of this team’s shooting prowess. Houston is shooting over 40% from 3 on the year, and I don’t suspect much regression is in store, given ShotQuality projects the Cougars should be shooting around there based on the “quality” of attempts taken.
They’ll play host to Utah on Wednesday. The Utes are due for a letdown loss after three consecutive wins, including an overtime home victory in the Holy War.
The Utes don’t play well on the road, losing three of their four road games, including blowout defeats at Baylor (81-56) and Iowa State (82-59). They rank 348th nationally in Haslametrics' Away From Home metric, and it won’t get easier at Houston.
From a schematic perspective, Utah has struggled with rebounding and ball handling in conference play, which are the two things you can’t do against Houston. The Utes also love pressuring the rim in transition and through cuts and rolls, which will be impossible against the nation’s best transition-and-rim-denial defense.
With all that said, Utah does have a path to a cover.
The Utes are a surprisingly effective attack-and-kick catch-and-shoot squad, grading out as elite in ShotQuality’s Spacing and Shot Selection metrics. That’s the best way to beat Houston’s ball-screen blitz, as the Cougars’ aggressive two-to-the-ball defense will leave weak-side spot-up shooters open.
On the other end of the court, Houston will play through ball screens and the post, and I’m uncertain how effective the Cougars will be.
The Utes are a rock-solid post-up defense (.75 PPP allowed, 84th percentile, per Synergy) because they’re massive on the interior behind 6-foot-10 Jake Wahlin and 7-foot-1 Lawson Lovering. Also, they’re an above-average ball-screen coverage squad (.86 PPP allowed, 53rd percentile, per Synergy).
There are too many conflicting factors for me to bet on this game. But, if I had to, I’d lay the big number with the Cougars, as most projection systems make them more than a 20-point home favorite on Thursday. They could dominate the shot-volume battle.
