The Oakland Golden Grizzlies take on the Houston Cougars in Houston, TX. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Houston is favored by -29.5 points on the spread with the game total set at 139.5 points.
Here are my Oakland vs. Houston predictions and college basketball picks for November 12, 2025.
Oakland vs Houston Prediction
My Pick: Houston -29.5 (Play to -31)
My Oakland 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.
Oakland vs. Houston Odds
| Oakland Odds | |
|---|---|
| Spread | Total |
+29.5 -110 | 139.5 -110o / -110u |
| Houston Odds | |
|---|---|
| Spread | Total |
-29.5 -110 | 139.5 -110o / -110u |
- Oakland vs Houston spread: Houston -29.5
- Oakland vs Houston over/under: 139.5 points
Oakland vs Houston College Basketball Betting Preview
Oakland Basketball
Greg Kampe always has a very tough buy game schedule. You can expect to see Oakland on non-conference schedules for a large number of top-25 teams, year in and year out.
So far, the Golden Grizzlies took a 121-78 loss to Michigan and played Purdue so tightly that the AP voters knocked the Boilermakers out of the No. 1 spot. Purdue ended up winning by 10, but Oakland was within five points late in the contest.
Kampe deploys a zone defense that's gotten thrashed by both opponents. Michigan scored a video-game-like 1.55 PPP and Purdue scored a more tame, but still terrific, 1.21 PPP.
I'm a bit worried about Oakland stopping Houston in this game. It's not the first shot I'm as concerned about for the Grizzlies, but rather the second and third chances. A byproduct of playing a zone defense is sacrificing rebounding at times — and Houston dominates the glass like few others can.
Oakland doesn't have much depth. All five of its starters played 28+ minutes in its first two games, and four of the five played 33+ minutes.
Ziare Wells, a transfer from Lenoir-Rhyne, leads the team with 17 points per game, and JUCO transfer Isaac Garrett has 15 points a night.
Neither is attempting very many 3s, but they'll have to if they're open because scoring on the long-armed Houston defense is borderline impossible inside.
That'll be where guards Brody Robinson and Nassim Mashhour factor in. Robinson is small, just 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, but he's shooting 38% from deep. Mashhour is also shooting 38% from downtown.
The one Golden Grizzlies player who can match Houston's physical play is their main returnee, big man Tuburu Naivalurua. He's 6-foot-8, 240 pounds and he's suddenly found his perimeter jumper. He made just three triples the last two seasons and already has four in 2025-26.
Houston Basketball
It might sound crazy to call a team that's started 2-0 with a pair of 17+ point wins “disappointing," but I’m feeling that exact way when it comes to the Houston Cougars.
The Cougars are 0-2 against the spread, which is a bit unexpected. They typically have an easier time covering the spread against inferior foes, but that's not the case this year.
What's changed? Their offense just hasn't played well. The Coogs scored 1.10 PPP and 1.00 PPP in their first two games. While that's not "bad," you'd expect more from Houston against Lehigh and Towson.
Houston is shooting 28% from downtown so far this year. Emanuel Sharp is shooting just 27% from deep and Milos Uzan is at 29% from the field and 23% from downtown. The Cougars' offense absolutely needs that pair to start playing well to cover this large spread.
The defense is doing its job, as usual. The Coogs held Towson to a whopping 48 points and 0.74 PPP. Lehigh fared a bit better, scoring 58 points on 0.84 PPP.
But nobody is scoring on this Houston defense. That won't change. However, it's on the offense to carry their weight.
One offensive bright spot is freshman guard Kingston Flemings. The highly-touted freshman scored 20 points against Towson and he'll give Houston a terrific third option once Uzan and Sharp start playing better.
Oakland vs. Houston Betting Analysis
The streak of Houston failing to cover this season will come to an end at just two games.
I can't see the Golden Grizzlies having much success on either end.
The Cougars will own the offensive glass against the zone and they'll force a shaky Oakland shooting team to shoot it from deep.
My Pick: Houston -29.5 (Play to -31)
