Back Cougars To Get Their Revenge

Houston vs. Texas Tech, 9:00 ET

If you're a competitor, you tend to have losses stick with you more than wins. Sure, some wins stay forever, but a lot of times you can feel more of the losses. You remember each moment and tend to pick it apart. You probably remember most of your big wins with sports betting, but I'd bet you also remember the losses. Sometimes the only cure is to get a bit of revenge against the team that got you. That's the situation that we have here today as the Houston Cougars take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. 

Houston is a team that I bet on Saturday, and depending on what number you got, you either cashed with me, or suffered a loss. That's not the loss that I was alluding to in the opening paragraph. What I was thinking about is the one conference loss that Houston has suffered this season. They dropped a game by one point in overtime to Texas Tech at home earlier in the year. The team overall is now 23-4 with a 15-1 conference record. The other losses came earlier in the season, losing to Auburn in the second game of the year, and against Alabama and San Diego State on neutral courts. Three of the teams losses have come in overtime, and the four total losses have been by 14 points. As I'm sure you can tell by their record, Houston has been good on the road as well as at home. In conference road games, they've beaten Oklahoma State, Kansas State, UCF, Kansas, West Virginia, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State. In those games, they have had just three of them that have ended by under a 10-point margin. They struggled against UCF which was surprising, but the other two close ones were against Kansas and against Arizona. Still, this Cougars team is one of the best in the country. 

Feb 15, 2025; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) drives to the basket around Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Marchelus Avery (0) during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images

Texas Tech has had a very good season, and they are putting a good run together to end it. Currently sitting at ninth in the country, with a 21-6 record, and a 12-4 conference record. They have lost two of their past five games though. The only redeeming factor of those losses is that they lost them both on the road. So far, they have had just one home loss this season. It was against Iowa State as they dropped the game 85-84 in overtime. The two losses weren't brutal as they lost by three to TCU, and by nine to Arizona. The other three losses this season came against Saint Joseph's, Texas A&M, and UCF. This is not going to win the Big 12 for Texas Tech, but it would be a big confidence boost for the team to take another win over one of the best teams in the country. They do have a good six-man team (of course there are a couple of other decent contributors). The top six guys all play 20+ minutes per game and average at least 8 points per game. They shoot well from deep too, something Houston will need to combat if they want to get a win. 

This should be quite a battle between the two squads. In the first game, the road team was able to grab a win. Will that be the same case here tonight? Or will Texas Tech get another win? Will revenge happen for Houston? In the first game the final was 82-81 in overtime, giving us a total of 163. 19 points were scored in overtime, but that would still put us over the 130.5 total for tonight's game. I have a strong lean toward the over. Most of all, though, I don't expect Texas Tech to hit 3's at the same rate and think that the Cougars will take this one down. Back Houston on the moneyline. 

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