Auburn vs. Houston Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
No. 9 Auburn and No. 1 Houston are both into the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers and Cougars prepare to square off in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday night. Auburn downed Iowa 83-75 in the first round, while Houston dumped Northern Kentucky 63-52.
The Cougars opened as 5.5-point favourites to win on the college basketball odds.
Auburn vs. Houston NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Auburn comes in with a 4-1 record in their last five games against ACC teams. They’re 6-1 against the spread in their last seven tournament games and they’ll be looking to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 for the second time since 2019. The Tigers are +4049 to win the tournament and +1034 to reach the Final Four.
The Cougars are 14-1 in their last 15 games overall. They’re 4-2 ATS in their last six games against SEC opponents, but they’ve failed to cover in six of their last seven games this year. Houston is looking to make a third straight Sweet 16 appearance. They’re currently the tournament favourites at +337 and they’re +116 to make the Final Four.
Auburn Tigers (9)
Auburn leading scorer Johni Broome once again led the way in the first round against Iowa, scoring a team-high 19 points and adding a game-high 12 rebounds. The Tigers were lethal from the free throw line, draining 11 of 12 attempts. Allen Flanigan had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards, while Wendell Green Jr. (15), Jaylin Williams (11), Tre Donaldson (11) and K.D. Johnson (11) also scored in double figures. One scary moment for Auburn was when Johnson jumped to block a shot and somersaulted over an Iowa player. Johnson was noticeably in pain on the ground and briefly left the game before returning.
Houston Cougars (1)
Houston did it by committee in their first round win over Northern Kentucky, with four players recording double digit points. Jarace Walker led the team with 16 points, followed by Jamal Shead (13), J’Wan Roberts (11) and Emanuel Sharp (10). Leading scorer Marcus Sasser, who was questionable to play with a groin injury, added five points in limited action. Sasser sat out the entire second half after aggravating the injury and there’s no guarantee he’ll be good to go by Saturday. That would be a huge loss for the Cougars as Sasser is averaging 16.7 ppg.
AUB
HOU