The Arizona State Sun Devils take on the Houston Cougars in Houston, Texas. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Houston is favored by 16.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -2800. The total is set at 145.5 points.
Here’s my Arizona State vs. Houston prediction and college basketball picks for January 18, 2026.
Arizona State vs Houston Prediction
My Pick: Houston -16.5
My Arizona St vs Houston best bet is on the Cougars to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Arizona State vs. Houston Odds
| Arizona St Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+16.5 -110 | 145.5 -110 / -110 | +1300 |
| Houston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-16.5 -110 | 145.5 -110 / -110 | -2800 |
- Arizona State vs Houston spread: Houston -16.5
- Arizona State vs Houston over/under: 145.5 points
- Arizona State vs Houston moneyline: Arizona State +1300, Houston -2800
Arizona State vs Houston College Basketball Betting Preview
Arizona State Basketball
The story of Bobby Hurley’s time in Tempe is pretty simple. When expectations are present, they tend to fall short of them. When there are no expectations, the Sun Devils thrive.
That was the case earlier this week when Arizona State gave Arizona a scare. The Sun Devils lost by seven and covered the hefty 20.5-point spread.
They’ll find themselves in a similar spot on Sunday, one with no expectations to beat Houston.
The Sun Devils' path to beating or competing with Houston is fairly narrow. They’ll need to get hot and stay hot from deep, as they did against Arizona.
Arizona State checks in at No. 66 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency metric, largely aided by its propensity for drawing fouls.
The Sun Devils will also look to get running in transition. They sit at No. 77 in adjusted tempo, and they also force turnovers 19% of the time.
They aren’t a great shooting team, connecting on 33% of their looks from downtown. The shooting comes from four players: star guard Moe Odum (36%), wing Bryce Ford (39%) and internationals prospects Noah Meeusen (36%) and Andrija Grbovic (36%).
Of late, the man in the middle — Massamba Diop — has been on a tear. The 7-foot-1 center has scored 15+ points in his last seven games and reached 20+ in three of them. This will be Diop’s toughest task to date, but his recent play is promising.
The Sun Devils' best path to victory is by selling out for steals and praying for the best. Houston can eat them up in the half-court, since they rank outside the top 200 in 2-point and 3-point field goal defense.
Houston Basketball
Who let Kelvin Sampson get us swagger back? The Coogs crushed Baylor by 22 and West Virginia by 20, signaling the return of Houston’s dominance against inferior teams. Both opponents show below 40% from inside the arc — the Sampson speciality.
The Cougars' defense ranks No. 3 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. They limit opponents to 45% shooting on 2-pointers and 30% from deep. The only real chance to beat the Houston defense is by tossing up 3s and hoping for the best, or drawing fouls.
Offensively, Houston seemingly turned a corner. It tallied 77 points and scored more than 1.20 PPP in its last two games. With the terrific guard trio of Milos Uzan, Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp, it felt like a matter of time until they get rolling.
As usual, offense rebounding is a staple for the Cougars. They rank 15th nationally with a 38% offensive rebound percentage, and veteran big-man JoJo Tugler is a machine on the glass.
The one separator to a blowout for Houston? The 3-point shot. The Cougars attempt 3s on 42% of their possessions and connect just 33% of the time. If that number reaches the 40% range, the cover will be much easier.
Arizona State vs. Houston Betting Analysis
So, let’s lay this out a bit. Arizona was a -20.5/21 favorite against Arizona State. With this line sitting at 16.5, that implies that Houston is five points worse than Arizona, which I don’t buy into.
To me, that shows some value with the home team. Houston just beat two teams that are better than Arizona State by more, so I think it can win a third straight by 17+.
My Pick: Houston -16.5
