We have a top-10 matchup on the hardwood on Monday night in Lubbock, as Houston will look for some revenge off its home loss to Texas Tech earlier this month. Let’s breakdown a college basketball pick for Big Monday.
Houston at Texas Tech (9:00pm ET)
Both of these teams are playing fantastic basketball right now, setting up a terrific rematch from when they met at Houston a little over three weeks ago. That was the last time the Cougars lost, laying nearly double digits on their home floor, the Red Raiders forced overtime and won by a single point. The win for Tech came essentially without one of its best players, as JT Toppin played just four minutes in the game. No doubt that revenge will be on Kelvin Sampson’s club’s mind as they go on the road looking for some payback, riding a six-game winning streak since the loss.
While Texas Tech has protected its home floor well this season (14-2 SU/10-6 ATS), it has also produced some duds. The Red Raiders are 6-2 at home in conference play, dropping a tough one to a good Iowa State squad, and an inexplicable loss to UCF. Houston has been a road warrior all season, sitting at 8-0 SU/6-2 ATS. I’d expect this to be as engaged as we’ve seen the Cougars all season, which could be scary given they lead the nation at just 57.7 points per game allowed.
Look for a combination of veteran guard play and the bigs controlling the paint for the Cougars to play a massive role in this one. In addition, Red Raiders’ wing, Chance McMillan, missed Saturday’s win over West Virginia with a lower-body injury. McMillian matched a season-high with 23 points the last time these two teams met, playing 43 minutes. He’s being tagged as day-to-day moving forward, so if he’s unable to go on Monday, or at all hindered, that could also have significant impact.
Houston is as tough a team as any in the country, and playing on the road has only been a strength. Look for the Cougs to dig deep and get a bit of payback.
College Basketball Pick: Houston ML (-120) 1.5-units
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