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USA Today
14-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
BYU vs. Houston odds, picks and predictions
The BYU Cougars (24-8) and Houston Cougars (28-4) meet Friday in a Big 12 Conference Tournament semifinal in Kansas City. The opening tip at T-Mobile Center will be at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's college basketball odds around the BYU vs. Houston odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions. BYU — No. 18 in the USA TODAY Sports Men's Basketball Coaches Poll and the 4 seed in this tourney — took down 12th-ranked and No. 5 seed Iowa State 96-92 Thursday. The Cougars won outright as 2.5-point underdogs with the Over (146) easily cashing. G Richie Saunders had a team-high 23 points, including a 3-for-8 performance from downtown. BYU has won 9 straight games. Houston, No. 2 in the country, and the top seed in the Big 12 Tourney, failed to cover as 17.5-point favorites in a 77-68 quarterfinal victory over Colorado Thursday. G Emanuel Sharp led the squad with 19 points, including 4-for-7 from distance. G L.J. Cryer struggled, going 4-for-11 from the floor, but finished with 14 points. Houston's top rebounder F J'wan Roberts (10.8 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) sprained his ankle early in the second half and didn't play the rest of the game. Friday afternoon reports claim he'll be good to go vs. BYU, but keep an eye on it. In the one regular-season meeting in this battle of Cougars, Houston romped at home 86-55 as a 9.5-point favorite with the Over (133.5) cashing Jan. 4. Sharp led the host Cougars with a game-high 18 points, while BYU only had one scorer in double figures — reserve G Trevin Knell (12 points). Friday's other Big 12 semifinal pits No. 2 seed Texas Tech (25-7) against third-seeded Arizona (21-11). THE BRACKETS ARE BACK! The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back! $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for top bracket. Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now! BYU vs. Houston odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET. Moneyline: BYU +240 (bet $100 to win $240) | Houston -300 (bet $300 to win $100) BYU +240 (bet $100 to win $240) | Houston -300 (bet $300 to win $100) Against the spread (ATS): BYU +6.5 (-105) | Houston -6.5 (-115) BYU +6.5 (-105) | Houston -6.5 (-115) Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -110 | U: -110) BYU vs. Houston picks and predictions Prediction BYU 70, Houston 68 Houston has won 11 straight, but I don't like the vibes I'm getting from these Cougars. They have covered just once in the last 6 games — with a push as 4-point favorites at Baylor Saturday. They are still finding ways to win, but at some point, allowing teams to hang around will bite them. BYU needs this game more for seeding purposes, and it is a solid bunch that's on a roll. Send it with BYU (+240). BetMGM has a 'No Sweat Token' you can place on this to give you solace in case it doesn't work out. Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+ Let's double up and take BYU +6.5 (-105). With Houston's issues covering (spreads) and the possibility of an outright win, this is my favorite bet of the bunch. BYU is 8-2 O/U the last 10, and Houston is 5-5 O/U. The Over cashed in the earlier meeting, and I like OVER 133.5 (-110) here. Houston allowed an inferior Colorado squad to drop 68 Thursday. On a back-to-back, I like the Over potential. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! Follow Ryan Dodson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / College Sports Wire / High School / Recruiting
USA Today
14-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Marquette vs. St. John's odds, picks and predictions
The No. 23 Marquette Golden Eagles (23-9) and the No. 5 St. John's Red Storm (28-4) meet Friday in a Big East Tournament semifinal game at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (FOX). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's college basketball odds around the Marquette vs. St. John's odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions. The No. 5 seed Golden Eagles dispatched fourth-seeded Xavier Thursday in a tight 89-87 win as G Kam Jones scored a team-high 28 points to go along with 5 assists. G's Stevie Mitchell and Chase Ross chipped in with 16 points apiece. Marquette came up short as a 2.5-point favorite with the Over (145) easily hitting. The win snapped a 2-game skid, which included an 86-84 OT loss in Milwaukee to St. John's in the regular-season finale Saturday. The Golden Eagles misfired as 4.5-point favorites with the Over (146.5) cashing. In fact, despite the win vs. Xavier, Marquette is 5-6 straight up (SU) and an even-worse 3-8 against the spread (ATS) in the past 11 games — the span includes 2 losses to St. John's. The top-seeded Red Storm easily brushed past ninth-seeded Butler 78-57 as 12-point favorites in their Thursday semifinal with the Under (145.5) coming through. G RJ Luis Jr. had a game-best 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, with 7 rebounds, a block and a steal. St. John's enters on a 7-game win streak and are 5-1 ATS in the past 6, while the Under is 3-1 in the past 4. The other Big East semi features No. 2 seed Creighton (23-9) and No. 3 seed and 2-time defending NCAA Tourney champ UConn (23-9). – Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Men's Basketball Coaches Poll THE BRACKETS ARE BACK! The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back! $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for top bracket. Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now! Marquette vs. St. John's odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:34 p.m. ET. Moneyline (ML) : Marquette +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | St. John's -200 (bet $200 to win $100) : Marquette +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | St. John's -200 (bet $200 to win $100) Against the spread : Marquette +4.5 (-110) | St. John's -4.5 (-110) : Marquette +4.5 (-110) | St. John's -4.5 (-110) Over/Under (O/U): 143.5 (O: -115 | U: -105) Marquette vs. St. John's picks and predictions Prediction St. John's 77, Marquette 69 St. John's (-200) will set you back 2 times your potential return. That's quite a bit of risk for not nearly enough reward … at least straight up. However, if you want to toss this into a multi-leg parlay, that would be perfectly acceptable. PASS. Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+ ST. JOHN'S -4.5 (-110) is worth playing. The Johnnies not only swept the regular-season series against the Golden Eagles, but they covered each of the outings as well. The old adage about how it's tough to beat a team 3 times in the same season might give bettors pause. However, Marquette has also failed to cover 3 in a row and, as mentioned, is just 3-8 ATS in the past 11 games. St. John's is just playing better, and should give bettors the most confidence in covering. OVER 143.5 (-115) is the lean, but only go with a half-unit play at most. The Under (147) cashed in the 70-64 regulation win by St. John's over Marquette in NYC Feb. 4, while Saturday's tilt went Over in Milwaukee — it hit in regulation but barely as it was tied 75-all after 40 minutes. The Under is 3-1 in the past 4 games for the Johnnies, while holding a 10-5 edge in the past 15 games. The Under has a slight 3-2 edge in the past 5 games for the Golden Eagles, while going 9-6 in the past 15 outings. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / College Sports Wire / High School / Recruiting
