🏀 Texas A&M vs. Houston Prediction, Picks & Parlay: March Madness Second Round Odds Today
No. 10 Texas A&M rides the momentum of its first-round win over Saint Mary's into today's second-round clash with No. 2 Houston at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The Cougars are 10.5-point favorites ahead of a 6:10 p.m. ET tip on TNT, with the total climbing from its open to 143.5.
My best Texas A&M vs. Houston prediction is a five-star play on the Aggies to cover, backed by how well this matchup mirrors the slow-paced Saint Mary's game Texas A&M just handled. My March Madness predictions also target a Rylan Griffen three-pointer prop, expecting positive regression from a 41% shooter who's gone cold from deep.
🏀 Texas A&M vs. Houston picks & odds: March Madness Second Round
See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds; picks rated on a 1-to-5 star confidence scale based on betting value.
| Pick | Best odds | Units | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATS pick | Texas A&M +11 (-110 via Caesars) | 2u -> 1.82u | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| O/U pick | Under 142.5 (-110 via FanDuel) | 0.5u -> 0.46u | ⭐⭐ |
| Rylan Griffen player prop pick | Over 1.5 3-pointers made (-115 via bet365) | 1u -> 0.87u | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Total wagered: 3.5 units | Max profit: 3.15 units
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💵 Latest Texas A&M vs. Houston odds & betting splits
Latest Texas A&M vs. Houston odds and betting splits via BetMGM.
| Market | Texas A&M | Houston | Betting splits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ↔️ Spread | +10.5 (-105) | -10.5 (-105) | 37% Texas A&M / 63% Houston |
| ↕️ Total (O/U) | O 143.5 (-110) | U 143.5 (-110) | 62% Over / 38% Under |
| 💵 Moneyline | +375 | -500 | 8% Texas A&M / 92% Houston |
Houston is drawing 63% of spread bets and a massive 92% of moneyline action, but the spread has actually come back down from its peak: the Aggies were as low as +9.5 before bouncing back to +10.5. The total has risen to 143.5, with 62% of bets on the Over.
🏆 Who will win Texas A&M vs. Houston?
I do not expect Houston to squander an opportunity to play in the Regional Semifinals in its home city next weekend. But while I expect the Cougars to advance, Texas A&M is a live underdog in this matchup.
Score prediction: Houston 73, Texas A&M 68
💰 Texas A&M vs. Houston prediction & best bet
See the latest March Madness odds for every team in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M +11 (-110)
This five-star play is backed by the confidence of how well this matchup mirrors a Saint Mary’s team that Texas A&M just easily handled.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Aggies had only played two games with under 65 possessions. But they certainly didn’t mind Thursday’s 63-50 slugfest, and they improved to 17-2 when forcing a turnover rate of at least 16%.
Houston ranks 351st in adjusted tempo (Saint Mary’s was 310th). The only other sub-300 tempo NCAA Tournament team Texas A&M played was Tennessee, who it lost to in double overtime while still forcing a 22% turnover rate.
🏀 More March Madness picks for Saturday
I back Texas +5.5 with my Texas vs. Gonzaga prediction and Nebraska +2.5 with my Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska prediction, along with expecting High Point to win: High Point vs. Arkansas prediction.
🔥 Best Texas A&M vs. Houston player prop bet
Follow all of our college basketball analysis and expert predictions for March Madness.
Rylan Griffen Over 1.5 3-pointers made (-115)
Texas A&M deployed its usual offensive strategy of a 3-point barrage in its opening round win over Saint Mary’s, with 23 of its 52 field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. Part of that was by design and not wanting to consistently challenge the Gaels’ 7-footers, but Houston will likely oblige in letting the Aggies bomb away from deep once again.
Houston allowed the second-highest 3-point rate in Big 12 play, while those opponents got more than one-third of their points from the perimeter (fifth-most).
Rylan Griffen is just 1-for-8 from 3-point range over the last two games. But I am banking on positive regression for a sharpshooter that shoots 3-pointers at a near 41% clip, and was the seventh-best 3-point shooter in SEC play.
🚀 Texas A&M vs. Houston same-game parlay
We lucked out having bet365 as one of our best sports betting sites for this same-game parlay. It's one of the best March Madness betting sites because it has player props available at the time of this writing and is also aligned with other books price-wise as a Texas A&M and Under backer.
Adding Griffen to hit at least two 3-pointers helps our case of the Aggies covering, but we still need them to play solid defense to cash the leg of the parlay pertaining to the full-game total.
💵 Aggies vs. Cougars SGP picks
- Texas A&M +11 (-110)
- Under 142.5 (-110)
- Rylan Griffen Over 1.5 3-pointers made (-115)
Best odds: +581 via bet365 (1u -> 5.81u)
💵 My betting record for college basketball
All college basketball picks, including SGPs, have been tracked since March 13.
| Bet type | Record | Net profit | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 38-41 | -0.72 units ❌ | -0.9% ❌ |
| Game picks | 23-26 | -3.76 units ❌ | -27.1% ❌ |
| Player props | 14-13 | +4.17 units ✅ | +15.5% ✅ |
💡 How I'm betting Texas A&M vs. Houston: March Madness strategy
Texas A&M +11 is arguably my top play of Saturday's slate, which is why I am getting more aggressive with it as a two-unit play. I would have made the Aggies moneyline (+450 via FanDuel is the best number) a small 0.25-unit play, until learning that Kelvin Sampson is 14-0 SU as a favorite of eight or more points in the NCAA Tournament.
Still, one double-digit seed has reached every Sweet 16 since 2008, so you're saying there's a chance! Rob Paul's March Madness betting trends feature more records for coaches.
📊 Live Texas A&M vs. Houston odds: March Madness Second Round
The spread opened at +10.5, dipped to +9.5 at several books, and has settled back at +10.5 at BetMGM. That buyback toward the Aggies is a good sign for those waiting on a better number. The total has climbed to 143.5, with 62% of action on the Over despite both teams ranking in the bottom half of the country in adjusted tempo.
📈 Texas A&M vs. Houston betting trends
| Texas A&M | Statistic | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| 22-11 | Record | 29-6 |
| 19-14 | ATS record | 17-18 |
| 19-14 | O/U record | 14-21 |
| 35th | KenPom ranking | 5th |
| 119.6 (49th) | Adj. offensive rating (rank) | 124.7 (13th) |
| 100.0 (34th) | Adj. defensive rating (rank) | 91.1 (4th) |
📺 How to watch Texas A&M vs. Houston: March Madness Second Round
- Date: Saturday, March 21
- Tipoff: 6:10 p.m. ET
- Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City)
- TV: TNT
- Streaming: HBO Max
🏀 More March Madness predictions today (Saturday, March 21)
| Texas A&M vs. Houston | |
| Texas vs. Gonzaga | VCU vs. Illinois |
| Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska | High Point vs. Arkansas |
March Madness expert picks today
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