Houston vs Texas Odds, Picks and Predictions: Cougars' Cryer Finds His Stroke

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson brought Baylor transfer guard L.J. Cryer to H-Town to get buckets, and he’ll need to do just that when their Cougars visit the Texas Longhorns tonight for an exciting Big 12 Conference matchup.

The Cougars will need Cryer to rack up points against the Longhorns, who enter with a 10-2 record at Moody Center and a big-time scorer of their own in senior guard Max Abmas.

Can the Longhorns pull off a home upset over the Cougars? Join me as I look closer at the college basketball odds with free college basketball picks for Houston vs. Texas on Monday, January 29.

Houston vs Texas best odds

Houston vs Texas picks and predictions

Houston Cougars' senior guard L.J. Cryer has been a scorer for most of his collegiate career.

The senior transfer from neighboring Baylor is a career 41% shooter from downtown and a capable rebounder and playmaker, which makes his recent shooting woes puzzling and what makes his points+rebounds+assists prop so very enticing.

His struggles? He’s failed to clear his 15.2 ppg scoring average in four of his previous six, including a 1-for-6 shooting night from downtown in the Cougars' lopsided home victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

Cryer came up big in their previous away matchup at No. 21 Brigham Young, scoring 23 points in a tough road victory over a strong BYU basketball team. Tonight, Houston is up against a sometimes inconsistent Texas Longhorns defense with big scorers of their own, and Cryer will shine.

Texas doesn’t play great perimeter defense, so the triple will be there. Head coach Kelvin Sampson stated after the BYU game that he wanted his charge to “stay aggressive,” and we should expect Cryer to fire away against a Longhorns squad allowing 34% shooting from downtown.

Tonight is a big game, and Cryer scoring buckets is why Sampson brought him to Houston. He’s coming off a stinker but is getting great looks and has the green light to fire away from downtown against a Longhorns defense that doesn’t defend the arc well at all. 

His recent shooting woes haven’t affected his rebounds or his assist totals, though, and the senior guard has averaged nearly three boards and 1.5 dimes per night over his last five. It will be that combination, alongside a bounce-back shooting night from downtown, that will lead Cryer to clear the 17.5 pts+rebounds+assists number tonight.

My best bet: L.J. Cryer Over 17.5 pts + rebs + asts (-115 +131 at DraftKings) 50% boost available

Houston vs Texas same-game parlay

L.J. Cryer Over 13.5 points

Over 129

Max Abmas Under 15.5 points

50% boost available

+600 +900 at DraftKings 

My best bet market wasn’t offered as an SGP leg, but no matter. It was based on Cryer going off tonight from downtown anyway only with some extra insurance, so Over 13.5 points will correlate nicely.

This game opened everywhere at 130.5 points, and that number has dipped sharply, probably out of respect for the Cougars defense. Houston plays great defense, and they’ll look to lock down Max Abmas. The man with the 14th-most points in college history will struggle with his shot tonight. Fortunately for him and the Over, he has three other Longhorns teammates who can score enough to get close to their 77.4 points per game home average.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Houston vs Texas spread and Over/Under analysis

I do like the Over 129 (-110) offered by DraftKings. It’s a terrific number and much better than the opening 130.5. That’s a big drop compared to the 129.5 points everyone else offers, with vig at -110 straight across the US betting landscape. The 130.5 opener seemed too low, and this seems like a gift.

Houston plays great defense, but the Cougars have allowed an average of 67.5 points over their last two conference away games. Texas does have some scorers and is playing in a barn where it scores nearly 78 points per game. Houston has great shooters, and Texas doesn’t defend the arc well at all. These programs play slow tempos, but their snipers from downtown can make up for the snail's pace.

Houston boasts a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, and Texas checks with 1.1, which leads me to believe we’ll see a game in the 130s.

Texas opened as +5.5, but that number is now as low as +4.5 (-104) at FanDuel. It’s still +5.5 (-110) at BetMGM, but everywhere else has the Longhorns +5 (-110) or worse.

Texas is 3-9-0 against the spread at home, and while I am not interested in taking or even laying any points, I am leaning towards the Longhorns pulling off an upset. The Longhorns are 10-2 at home and have upset two of the last three nationally-ranked opponents they’ve faced. Both Houston losses were at conference foes, and the Cougars have been held below 74 points in three of their previous four away tilts.

Caesars has Texas at +185 on the board, and if it reaches +200, I will play Texas to pull off a high-scoring upset.  

Houston vs Texas betting trend to know

The Over is 6-1 Over the Longhorns last seven games. Find more college basketball betting trends for Houston vs. Texas.

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