Alabama vs Houston Basketball Prediction & Picks: Will the top-ranked Cougars roll the Tide to stay perfect?

Last year, Alabama and Houston played out one of the best games of the 2021-22 college basketball season, with the Crimson Tide edging out the Cougars by one point in Tuscaloosa.

This afternoon’s rematch at the Fertitta Center in Houston promises to be a real treat, given the lofty positions that the two teams currently occupy in the rankings. Houston is the top-ranked team in the land in both major polls, while Alabama is ranked eighth in the AP Poll and tenth in the Coaches Poll this week.

Will Kelvin Sampson’s squad ensure that they will maintain their spot atop the polls come next week, or will the Tide help position Virginia to be #1 when they host the Cougars next Saturday?

Continue reading for our Alabama vs Houston prediction, as well as our betting picks for the matchup.

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Alabama Crimson Tide vs Houston Cougars Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: #8 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) vs #1 Houston Cougars (9-0)
• Venue & Location: Fertitta Center (Houston, Texas)
• Date: Saturday, December 10, 2022
• Game Time: 3:00 pm ET (2:00 pm local time)
• How to Watch Alabama vs Houston: ABC

Alabama vs Houston Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline as of Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 12:10 pm ET. Odds from our other recommended legal sports betting sites may also appear in this article.

Spread

• Alabama +8.5 (-118)
• Houston -8.5 (-104)

Over/Under

• Over 138.5 (-110)
• Under 138.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Alabama +300
• Houston -385

Will the Cougars & Crimson Tide Pile Up the Points Again?

When these two teams met in Tuscaloosa last December, they played out a thriller that was not decided until the final seconds.

In the end, JD Davison’s putback dunk gave Alabama an 83-82 win at Coleman Coliseum.

Will we see another high-scoring game in the rematch, or will Houston’s defense control the outcome?

The Cougars are first in the country in scoring defense, allowing an average of 47.3 points per game. They are also first in field goal percentage defense (30.9 percent) and third in three-point field goal defense (22.9 percent).

Alabama may not operate with the same level of stinginess, but they have some strong points defensively as well.

Entering today, they are tied for 178th in scoring defense (68.5 PPG), but they rank ninth in field goal percentage defense (36.4 percent), and teams are shooting just 29.4 percent from three against the Tide.

But none of this means that you should automatically jump on the over.

The Tide are averaging 83.5 points per game, which is just outside the top 20 nationally.

Freshman sensation Brandon Miller (19.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG) and Ohio transfer Mark Sears (14.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.5 APG) are the team’s only two double-digit scorers, but this is a deep team that shares the wealth. Nine players are averaging at least 16.8 minutes per game, and all nine of those players are averaging at least 5.8 PPG.

Like Alabama, Houston has only two players averaging 10+ PPG, in Marcus Sasser (16.9 PPG) and Tramon Mark (10.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG). But the Cougars, who average 74.9 PPG, have seven players total who average at least 5.3 PPG.

While there are some teams who rely on tight defense because they don’t have the horses on offense, that isn’t the case for Houston. The Cougars have scored 80+ points five times in eight games this season, including a season-high 100 in a recent 48-point win over Norfolk State.

Alabama vs Houston Prediction and Picks

Alabama vs Houston Prediction: Houston to win

Alabama vs Houston Pick: Alabama/Houston over & Houston team total over

I’m staying far, far away from any side-related bets in this matchup, because while I do love what the Cougars bring to the table, Alabama’s best is good enough to beat anyone, anywhere, including Houston at the Fertitta Center. At the same time, when the shots aren’t falling and they’re making mistakes, things can get ugly.

So far, the only game this season in which that has happened is their lone loss, an 82-67 loss to UConn at the Phil Knight Invitational. But the threat still looms, especially in a matchup like this one.

But I am rather happy to focus on a couple of total bets. I would have been even happier if the total was a few points lower, but even the high 130s is reasonable.

It’s going to be difficult to keep the Tide in the 50s or even low 60s, but even if Alabama does score somewhere more than most of Houston’s opponents, the Cougars can and will score, too.

If you’re looking for the best possible value for the game over or Houston’s team total, the place to look is BetUS, but there are no major disparities between what you will find there and our other recommended sportsbooks.

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