The No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers (30-7) will try to clinch their first Final Four appearance in school history when they face the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (33-4) in the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Tennessee is in the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season after avenging a pair of regular-season losses in a 78-65 win over No. 3 seed Kentucky on Friday. Houston is eyeing its first Final Four appearance since 2021 after sneaking past No. 4 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16. The Cougars let a late lead slip away, but they scored the game-winning basket on an inbound play with less than one second remaining.
Tipoff is at 2:20 p.m. ET on CBS from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Cougars are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Tennessee odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 124.5. Before making any Tennessee vs. Houston picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine expert Micah Roberts.
Over the past three college basketball seasons, Roberts is 267-227, returning $1,578 to $100 players. Roberts enters the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 15-5-1 roll (+917) over his last 21 college basketball picks involving Houston, and he is 11-3 (+769) in his previous 14 picks involving Tennessee.
Now, he has set his sights on Houston vs. Tennessee and just locked in his March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Tennessee vs. Houston:
- Houston vs. Tennessee spread: Houston -2.5
- Houston vs. Tennessee over/under: 124.5 points
- Houston vs. Tennessee money line: Houston -156, Tennessee +130
- HOU: The Cougars are 19-18 against the spread this season.
- TENN: The Volunteers are 20-17 against the spread this season.
- Houston vs. Tennessee picks: See who to back at SportsLine
Why Houston can cover
Houston has used its experience to its advantage against a pair of strong opponents in its last two games, coming up with clutch plays down the stretch of wins against Gonzaga and Purdue. Senior guard L.J. Cryer poured in 30 points in the win over the Bulldogs, while sophomore forward Joseph Tugler posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Cryer struggled to get into a rhythm throughout the Sweet 16 game on Friday, but he hit a crucial 3-pointer in the final minutes.
Junior guard Milos Uzan scored a game-high 22 points in the win over the Boilermakers, including the game-winning layup with less than one second remaining. Senior forward J’Wan Roberts controlled the glass, pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds. Houston has only lost one game since November, which came against Texas Tech in overtime on Feb. 1. See which team to pick here.
Why Tennessee can cover
Tennessee put together a strong finish to the regular season, with its only two regular-season losses in February and March coming on the road against Kentucky and Ole Miss. The Vols avenged the loss to the Wildcats with a 78-65 win in the third meeting on Friday, controlling the game from start to finish. They held a 15-point lead at halftime and never let the lead get lower than 12 points the rest of the way.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, setting the SEC single-season assists record along the way. The Vols have a defense that can match Houston’s physicality, and they can also go toe-to-toe with the Cougars’ leadership. See which team to pick here.
How to make Tennessee vs. Houston picks
Roberts has evaluated the Houston vs. Tennessee matchup from every angle and is leaning Under on the point total. He’s also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping on one side of the spread. You can only find out what it is, and see which side of the spread to back, at SportsLine.
So who wins Tennessee vs. Houston, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Houston vs. Tennessee spread to jump on, all from the expert on a 15-5 roll on his college basketball picks involving Houston, and find out.
This news was originally published on this post .
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