The top-seed in the Midwest, the Houston Cougars (30-4) take the court in their first game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament against the 16-seed SIUE Cougars (22-11). Houston won the Big 12 Tournament and SIUE won the Ohio Valley Conference.
Winners of 13 straight, the Houston Cougars are led by guards L.J. Cryer (15.2ppg) and Emanuel Sharp (12.6ppg). Their offensive production is commendable, but their trademark is their efforts leading one of the top defenses in all of college basketball. Houston has not allowed more than 70 points just once and have held five of their last 13 opponents under 60 points since February 1.
A former Division II power, SIUE is enjoying its third consecutive winning season. It has culminated in their first appearance in the Division I NCAA Tournament in the school’s history.
The winner earns the right to play the winner of Gonzaga vs. Georgia in Round 2.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch SIUE vs. Houston
- Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
- Time: 2:00PM EST
- Site: INTRUST Bank Arena
- City: Wichita, KS
- Network/Streaming: TBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for SIUE vs. Houston
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: SIUE Cougars (+3300), Houston Cougars (-10000)
- Spread: Cougars -29.5
- Total: 126.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for SIU-Edwardsville vs Houston
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s Cougars & Cougars game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on SIU-Edwardsville +29.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 126.5.
SIUE vs. Houston: Top betting trends and recent stats
- This is the first time these schools will meet on the hardwood
- SIUE is 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games (16-11-1 for the season)
- Over the course of Houston’s 13-game win streak, the Cougars are just 6-6-1 against the spread (16-14-1 for the season)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
