Duke (4) vs. Houston (1) Sweet 16 Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Cougars are 4-point favourites on the college basketball odds.
Duke vs. Houston NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this game faces either No. 11 NC State or No. 2 Marquette in the South Region final Sunday from Dallas for a spot in the Final Four. It should be Marquette. Duke has played NC State twice since March 4 in ACC action and split with the Wolfpack.
The Sweet 16 is nothing new for Duke (29th all-time appearance), but it’s the first time this far for second-year coach Jon Scheyer after the Blue Devils were knocked off in the Round of 32 in 2023. They were last in the Elite Eight in 2022 in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season when Duke lost in the Final Four to bitter rival North Carolina.
Houston is in the Sweet 16 for a fifth straight tournament (no event in 2020 due to COVID) and looking to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022 when it lost to Villanova. It’s the 16th all-time trip to the Sweet 16 for the program, which has never won a national title but should have in 1983.
To win the South, Houston is -105 and Duke +380. It’s the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke has looked fabulous in this tournament with a 17-point first-round win over No. 13 Vermont and a 93-55 destruction of No. 12 seed James Madison on Sunday to snap the Dukes’ national-best 14-game winning streak. Freshman Jared McCain was the star against JMU with eight made three-pointers, a school record for an NCAA Tournament game, to finish with 30 points. McCain also became the first freshman since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to score at least 30 points with no turnovers. The Blue Devils were 14-for-28 from deep and if they keep shooting that way, good luck beating them. Duke’s defense held JMU to 55 points, matching a season-low by the Dukes and 29.0 points below their season average. The Blue Devils have held 29 of their 34 opponents to below their respective scoring average this season. Duke is now 121-40 (.752) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, the best winning per centage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played.
Houston Cougars
Houston obliterated No. 16 Longwood in Round 1 of this tournament but was pushed to the limit Sunday in a 100-95 overtime win over No. 9 Texas A&M. UH is the best defensive team in the country, so the Aggies scoring that many points is extremely surprising. It never should have gotten to OT as Texas A&M outscored Houston 17-5 in the final two minutes of regulation, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to tie. Senior guard Jamal Shead, the Big 12 Player of the Year, had 21 points and 10 assists for Houston but was one of four Cougars to foul out. Guard Emanuel Sharp started overtime with a three-pointer that put Houston ahead to stay and had 30 points but also fouled out. The Cougars became the first team since 1987 to win an NCAA Tournament game when it had at least four players foul out. A&M attempted a whopping 45 free throws but made only 19. This is the fourth straight season UH has won at least 32 games.
DUKE
HOU