Final yr, the Houston Cougars had their season ended within the Nationwide Championship Recreation. However earlier than getting close to an opportunity at redemption for that loss, No. 2 Houston faces No. 15 seed Idaho Vandals within the South Area within the first spherical of the NCAA Match on Thursday night time. Houston was the preseason No. 2 workforce within the nation and enter March Insanity 2026 ranked fifth. The Cougars (28-6) are coming off a 79-74 loss to Arizona within the Huge 12 title sport on Saturday. In the meantime, Idaho (21-14) went on a Cinderella run within the Huge Sky Match, profitable the convention event because the No. 7 seed, regardless of going 9-9 in convention play. The Vandals make their first March Insanity look since 1990.
Tipoff from the Paycom Middle in Oklahoma Metropolis, Okla., is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET. The Cougars are 24.5-point favorites within the newest Houston vs. Idaho odds, with the over/below at 137.5. The Coogs are at -9091 on the cash line, with the Vandals priced at +2550. Earlier than making any Idaho vs. Houston picks, take a look at the boys’s faculty basketball predictions and betting recommendation from the SportsLine Projection Mannequin.
The SportsLine Projection Mannequin simulates each faculty basketball sport 10,000 instances. It entered the 2026 NCAA Match on a scorching 11-1 run on its top-rated over/below faculty basketball picks courting again to final season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB aspect picks. Anybody following its faculty basketball betting recommendation at sportsbooks and on betting apps may have seen sturdy returns.
Now, the mannequin has simulated Houston vs. Idaho 10,000 instances and simply revealed its coveted males’s faculty basketball picks and betting predictions. You may head to SportsLine now to see the mannequin’s picks. Listed below are a number of males’s faculty basketball odds and males’s faculty basketball betting strains for Idaho vs. Houston:
Houston vs. Idaho unfold: | Houston -24.5 |
Houston vs. Idaho over/below: | 137.5 factors |
Houston vs. Idaho cash line: | Houston -9091, Idaho +2550 |
Houston vs. Idaho picks: | See picks at SportsLine |
Houston vs. Idaho TV: | truTV |
Prime Houston vs. Idaho predictions
After 10,000 simulations of Houston vs. Idaho, SportsLine’s mannequin is going Over on the entire (137.5 factors). Houston is named an elite defensive program, and this yr isn’t any completely different, rating second within the nation at 62.9 factors per sport allowed. Nevertheless, Houston has its greatest offense in years, averaging 77.1 ppg this season. Not one of the final six Cougars groups even reached 75 ppg.
Idaho hasn’t performed a workforce close to Houston’s degree all season, and the Cougars have scored at the least 80 factors in eight video games, together with two contests with greater than 100 factors this season. Pressured turnovers may result in fast offense and straightforward factors for Houston in a major mismatch. The Over has hit in two of Idaho’s final three video games, with the Vandals scoring at the least 77 factors in all three contests. The mannequin has these groups combining for 148 factors, because the Over hits in 74.4% of simulations.
How one can make Idaho vs. Houston picks
The mannequin additionally says one aspect of the unfold hits virtually 60% of the time. You may solely see that choose at SportsLine.
So who wins Houston vs. Idaho, and which aspect of the unfold hits virtually 60% of the time? Go to SportsLine now to see which aspect of the unfold to again, all from the superior mannequin that has simulated this sport 10,000 instances, and discover out.
