Texas A&M vs Houston Odds, Picks and Predictions: Slow Pace and Bad Shooting Make for an Easy Under

The No. 4 team in the country gets its biggest test thus far this season on Saturday afternoon, as the Texas A&M Aggies take on the undefeated Houston Cougars at the home of the Houston Rockets. 

The Aggies have lost three of their last five games, including a home loss to the Memphis Tigers last Sunday. The Cougars have yet to really be put to the test in a close game, except for a six-point road victory at Xavier. Will the Aggies be able to end the Cougars’ perfect season as underdogs and cover in the college basketball odds this week? 

Here are our free college basketball picks and predictions for Texas A&M vs. Houston on Saturday, December 16. 

Texas A&M vs Houston best odds

Texas A&M vs Houston picks and predictions

The Aggies got off to a hot start at 5-0 on the season before falling to Florida Atlantic in a barn burner on Black Friday. They followed up that loss with a solid victory over Iowa State before losing two of their next three games. The relevant game to look at on their schedule is the game at Virginia given the similar style of play to this Houston team. 

In that game at Virginia, Texas A&M only managed to score 47 points despite its 76.6 per game average. The Aggies shot 30.4% from the field and a dreadful 4/23 from downtown. They also turned the ball over 16 times and their rebounding prowess was nowhere near enough to make up the difference. 

Houston also loves to muck it up and play slow with incredible defense. The Cougars rank first in the country allowing only 49.7 points per game. They also rank second in opponent field goal percentage at 35.0% and 21st in opponent 3-point percentage at 27.5%. Only Utah in a neutral-site game has managed to surpass 60 points against this Cougars team with 66 points in a 10-point defeat. 

A big question for the Cougars is the health of big man J’Wan Roberts. He has yet to miss a game but has been dealing with knee swelling that has caused him to play limited minutes and miss several practices this week. Roberts is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.3 per contest. 

If Roberts is unable to go or severely limited, then the Aggies will have a huge advantage on the boards, where they rank second in the country grabbing 17.5 offensive rebounds per game. They also rank 27th in only allowing 21.4 defensive rebounds per contest. While that may not be enough alone to win this game, it should be enough to keep the game in the trenches as they deal with an extremely tough Cougar defense. The Under is my best play in this contest.

My best bet: Under 130.5 (-105 at FanDuel)

Texas A&M vs Houston same-game parlay

Under 130.5

Houston -7.5 

+242 at FanDuel

With very little in terms of player props available at time of writing, let’s keep it simple with our same game parlay. 

Starting with the total, we’ll combine it with a pick on the spread. If Roberts is unable to go, it will be a big blow on the rebounding side for the Cougars. However, we have already seen the Aggies dominate the glass against a similar opponent and still lose by double-digits.

LJ Cryer — transfer from Baylor — will be tough to stop for the Aggies and point guard Jamal Shead will be a menace on both ends with steals and assists. Even in an extremely low scoring game, I still think Houston will get the win and cover in a semi-home game. 

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

Texas A&M vs Houston spread and Over/Under analysis

Neither team turns the ball over much, but the Aggies did turn the ball over more than six times above their season average against the Cavaliers. Now they will face a Cougars defense that ranks fourth in the country in turnovers forced at 17.9 per game. It will be tough sledding for Texas A&M to get anything going on offense. 

The Aggies rank 324th in adjusted tempo in KenPom rankings and the Cougars rank 321st. There is no doubt that this game will see limited shots on both ends. It’s unlikely that there will be a ton of made shots either, with Texas A&M shooting 43.2% from the field on the season and Houston shooting 43.6%.

Even if the Cougars manage to draw some fouls and get to the free-throw line, it’s not pretty for them there. They rank 326th in the country in free-throw shooting at an abysmal 64.8%. With little in terms of shooting on either end, this should be a very low-scoring affair. 

Texas A&M vs Houston betting trend to know

The Under is 8-2 in Houston games this season. Find more college basketball betting trends for Texas A&M vs. Houston.

Texas A&M vs Houston game info

Texas A&M vs Houston key injuries

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