The Texas A&M Aggies play the Houston Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Saturday, March 21. Tip-off is set for 6:10 p.m. ET on TNT.
Houston is favored by -10.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -500. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is the underdog at +10.5 with a moneyline of +380. The total is set at 142.5 points.
Here’s my Texas A&M vs. Houston prediction and college basketball picks for Saturday, March 21.
Texas A&M Aggies vs Houston Cougars Predictions, Pick
My Pick: Houston -10.5 (Play to -11)
My Texas A&M 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.
Texas A&M vs Houston Odds, Lines
| Texas A&M Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+10 -110 | 143 -110o / -110u | +460 |
| Houston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-10 -110 | 143 -110o / -110u | -650 |
Texas A&M vs Houston Preview
Texas A&M Aggies
Bucky McMillan has overachieved in his first year in College Station, not only guiding the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament but also leading them to a first-round win.
Texas A&M handled Saint Mary’s 63-50 in the Round of 64, forcing 18 turnovers and limiting one of the country’s best rebounding teams to just 11 offensive boards.
Do-it-all veteran Rashaun Agee led the way for the Aggies with 22 points and six rebounds, while Spanish sharpshooter Ruben Dominguez was his only teammate to reach double figures.
Bucky-Ball is all about chaos: up-tempo basketball with an undersized lineup that creates havoc and can shoot from deep.
The Aggies generate a lot of catch-and-shoot looks and led the SEC in assist rate this season. Defensively, it’s all about ball pressure and creating turnovers, though they can be vulnerable against bigger frontcourts.
Houston Cougars
As usual, Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars handled business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, obliterating Idaho, 78-47.
The Cougars’ stud freshmen were fantastic: Kingston Flemings led the team with 18 points, while Chris Cenac Jr. grabbed 18 rebounds.
This is an elite two-way team. Houston remains jump-shot reliant, but with a star like Flemings flanked by sure-handed ball handlers and 3-point threats like Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, it has a strong perimeter trio.
The identity of Houston has always been its physical, aggressive defense — this marks the sixth straight season Sampson has led a top-10 KenPom defense.
One area where Houston isn’t as strong this season is offensive rebounding. The Cougars rank a respectable 38th nationally in offensive rebounding rate, but it’s their lowest mark since 2017.
Texas A&M vs Houston Pick, Best Bet
Texas A&M is a tough team to project. When it succeeds, it’s because it makes opponents uncomfortable and wears them down — applying full-court pressure, playing at a high tempo and rotating so many players.
But wearing down Houston? That’s a tall order.
This is a Houston team with trustworthy ball handlers like Flemings and Uzan. The Cougs make it extremely difficult for up-tempo offenses to score quickly, and their mobile bigs should handle Agee and Zach Clemence effectively.
The variance and chaos of Bucky Ball give it a high ceiling, but seven of the Aggies’ 11 losses this season came by double digits. Houston is the pick for me.
My Pick: Houston -10.5 (Play to -11)
