The top-seeded Houston Cougars make their fifth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance when they take on the No. 4 seed Duke Blue Devils in the South Region semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Houston (32-4) trounced Longwood 86-46 in its opener before outlasting Texas A&M 100-95 in overtime in the second round. Duke (26-8) reached the Sweet 16 for the 33rd time in program history and first under head coach Jon Scheyer with ease as it began “The Big Dance’ with a 64-47 triumph over Vermont and rolled past James Madison 93-55 last Sunday.
Tipoff from American Airlines Center in Dallas is set for 9:39 p.m. ET. The Cougars are 4-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Duke odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 134.5. Before making any Duke vs. Houston picks, you need to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Zack Cimini.
A Las Vegas handicapper who’s never afraid to buck conventional wisdom, Cimini entered the Sweet 16 as SportsLine’s most profitable college basketball expert. He’s 83-58-2 on his last 143 college basketball picks, returning $1,880 for $100 players. Anyone following him has seen huge returns.
Now, Cimini has his sights on Duke vs. Houston and just locked in his Sweet 16 predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Houston vs. Duke:
- Duke vs. Houston spread: Cougars -4
- Duke vs. Houston over/under: 134.5 points
- Duke vs. Houston money line: Cougars -192, Blue Devils +161
- HOU: The Cougars are 6-12 against the spread in their last 18 games as favorites on the road or at neutral sites
- DUKE: The Blue Devils are 20-13-1 ATS this season
- Duke vs. Houston picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Houston can cover
The Cougars became the first team since UTEP in 1987 to win an NCAA Tournament game despite having four players foul out when they defeated Texas A&M. Three players scored at least 20 points in that victory, marking the third time in program history the feat was accomplished during March Madness and first since 1983 against Villanova in the Elite Eight. Sophomore guard Emanuel Sharp led Houston with 30 points versus the Aggies, Jamal Shead recorded 21 and dished out 10 assists, and fellow senior guard L.J. Cryer contributed 20 points.
Shead’s double-double was his fifth of the season and marked the first time in school history a player registered at least 20 points and 10 assists in an NCAA Tournament game. Meanwhile, Sharp made a career-high seven of the Cougars’ 11 3-pointers in the contest to tie the program record for most in a March Madness game set in 2019 by Corey Davis Jr. In his previous three outings, Sharp sank eight of his 19 attempts from beyond the arc. See which team to pick here.
Why Duke can cover
Like the Cougars, the Blue Devils had four players score in double figures in each of its first two victories in the NCAA Tournament. Freshman guard Jared McCain, sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor and senior guard Jeremy Roach recorded 13 or more points in each contest, while sophomore forward Mark Mitchell shared the team lead against Vermont with 15 and sophomore center Kyle Filipowski scored 14 on 6-of-8 shooting in the second-round win.
Duke’s 38-point triumph over James Madison on Sunday was the third-largest in school history in the second round of “The Big Dance’ or later. McCain scored 15 points in the team’s first-round win and doubled that total while going 8-for-11 from 3-point range versus the Dukes. He set the program record for most 3-pointers by a player in a Tournament game and joined Zion Williamson as the only freshmen to record 30 or more points for the Blue Devils in a contest during March Madness. See which team to pick here.
How to make Houston vs. Duke picks
Cimini has analyzed Houston vs. Duke from every angle, and while we can tell you he’s leaning Under the point total, he also has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
Who wins Houston vs. Duke, and which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Duke vs. Houston spread hits hard, all from the expert who entered the 2023-24 season up more than $1,300 on his college basketball picks, and find out.
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