Louisiana vs Houston Game Information

Louisiana vs Houston Preview

A big number here, as to be expected, with No. 6 Houston (1-1, 1-0 at Home) welcoming Louisiana (1-1, 0-0 on Road) in a Non-Conference dribble and the Ragin’ Cajuns first Road game of the 2024 NCAAB season. The Cougars were upset in their last game, losing to No. 11 Auburn on Saturday night, 74-69. In the loss, LJ Cryer (13 points), Emanuel Sharp (13 points), J’Wan Roberts (12 points), Joseph Tugler (10 points) and Milos Uzan (10 points) were all in double-digits. Houston hammered Jackson State in its first game of the season, 97-40. The Ragin’ Cajuns topped NCAA Division II side Texas-Dallas (82-65) and lost to Kent State (70-66). This one will be a real test for the Sun Belt side, especially with the Cougars coming off a loss and playing at Home.

Louisiana in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Louisiana (0-1-0 ATS, 0-1-0 O/U) won’t expect to win here with Houston massive -30,300 favorites on the Moneyline (ULL +4000), but the Ragin’ Cajuns have defeated the Cougars once, winning 79-78 in OT on December 14, 2013 as 7.5-point Underdogs at Lafayette in a game that went Over the closing 158 Total. ULL is led by Mostapha El Moutaouakki (13.0 ppg, 5,5 rpg), Kentrell Garnett (12.5 ppg), Koron Davis (12.0 ppg), and Michael Thomas (3.5 ppg, 4.0 apg), but this team may have trouble making it to the Big Dance again this season. Last year, the Ragin’ Cajuns were a No. 13-seed and lost to Tennessee in the First Round, 58-55. With four of the top six scorers gone, ULL signed Duncan Powell (Sacramento State) and hoped he would be the centerpiece, but the highly thought of PF then decided to go to Georgia Tech, leaving the Ragin’ Cajuns high and dry. So a lot of scoring that was and could be there, simply isn’t now.

Louisiana Betting Trends

• Louisiana is 0-2 ATS in its last 2 lined games, 2-6 ATS the last 8
• ULL is just 3-7 SU in its last 10 overall
• The First Half Over is 9-21 the last 30 for Louisiana (-12.85 Units)
• The Under is 3-0-1 in ULL’s last 4 games 
• ULL eliminated in NCAA Tournament in the First Round last 6 times

Expect a Very Focused Houston Side After a Loss

Houston (1-1-0 ATS, 2-0-0 O/U) is a hard team for opponents with its lockdown defense (#3 in forcing TO’s in 2023) and ability to race out to early leads, as the Cougars did vs Jackson State in the opener, leading 52-13 at the break. Houston (32-5 SU, 17-18-1 ATS in 2023-24) saw its electric playmaker and best player, Jamal Shead, leave for the NBA Draft (Raptors), but with Cryer, Roberts, Sharp, Uzan, and Tugler, the cats will be OK. The Cougars were No. 1 in the nation in allowing the fewest Points Per Possession, and ranked No. 10 in Fewest TO’s Per Possession last season. Here, after that aforementioned loss to Auburn over the weekend, expect Cryer and the hosts to be really on point and they may again be up by 20 or more after the first 20 minutes.

Houston Betting Trends

• Houston is 15-10 ATS in its last 25 games at Home (+5.10 units)
• The Cougars were 17–0 SU at the Fertitta Center last season
• Houston was 17-18-2 ATS last season
• The Cougars are 31-6 in its L37 on the First Half Moneyline (+20.35 units)
• The First Half Over is 14-37 in Houston’s last 51 games (-24% ROI)

Louisiana vs Houston Prediction and Picks

These two teams don’t play much with the last meeting coming on December 14, 2021 when Houston won by 15 (71-56) but failed to cover ATS at Home as big 22-point chalks. The Cougars have won and covered ATS three of the meetings, but the highest spread to date was 22, so getting over the 27.5- to 28.5-point hump here may be a challenge. This Louisiana vs Houston prediction and free NCAA Basketball pick is to take the Cougars, but also to look for a First Half line knowing the team should be more focused coming out of the gate. There were no First Half lines out at press time, but that angle is probably 2x better than backing the Cougars here in the Full Game market.

Kevin’s Picks: Houston First Half and Houston Full Game -27.5