Tonight’s Texas Tech vs Houston betting picks, college basketball odds and prediction for this Big 12 conference matchup.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are taking on the Houston Cougars at the Fertitta Center today in what will be a big game in the Big 12 basketball title race for both teams. Let’s take you through the top college basketball betting picks, odds, betting trends and Haslametrics, then give our Texas Tech vs Houston prediction for the game tonight.
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Texas Tech vs Houston Prediction | Big 12 College Basketball
No. 14 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) vs. No. 7 Houston Cougars (13-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Venue: Fertitta Center — Houston, TX
Coverage: FS1
Texas Tech vs Houston College Basketball Betting Picks and Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Texas Tech vs Houston can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: TTU: (+245) | HOU: (-304)
Point Spread: TTU: +6.5 (-110) | HOU: -6.5 (-110)
Total: 141.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
Haslametrics Rankings
Haslametrics Rankings are from Haslametrics.com
| Team | Rank | Pace | Offensive Eff | Defensive Eff | Momentum |
| Texas Tech | 24 | 67.43 (197th) | 126.08 (14th) | 102.01 (63rd) | 3.11 (42nd) |
| Houston | 18 | 65.06 (323rd) | 120.39 (44th) | 90.87 (7th) | 2.44 (55th) |
According to Haslametrics’ All-Play Estimates and automated game preview, the Houston Cougars are projected to hold off the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 75-70.
Texas Tech vs Houston College Basketball Betting Trends
- Texas Tech is 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last five games.
- The OVER is 4-1 in Texas Tech’s last five games.
- Houston is 4-1 ATS over their last five games.
- The UNDER is 3-2 for Houston in their last five games.
Texas Tech Preview | College Basketball Betting Picks
Just a few months into the 2025-26 season, and Texas Tech already has one of the more impressive resumes in college basketball. Their three losses came to ranked Illinois, Purdue and Arkansas teams, while they have won all their non-ranked matchups in addition to a very impressive 82-81 win over Duke right before Christmas.
JT Toppin still runs the show in Lubbock and is already looking like a true contender for the Naismith Award this year as the best men’s player in college basketball, averaging 21.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Second-year guard Christian Anderson has really flourished as the “Robin” to Toppin’s “Batman” and is averaging over 20 points per game as well. While the team struggles slightly at the free throw line, shooting under 70% so far, they can shoot anyone out of the gym, knocking down 38% of the threes they take.
This year, the Red Raiders’ defense isn’t quite as elite as it has been in years past. With that in mind, a lot of that is thanks to the solid teams they’ve played already as well. If they can find a way to harness some of their past elite defenses, they can beat absolutely anyone on a nightly basis. Even though a really well-coached Houston team on the road is always a tough challenge, if they can play their brand of defense, they can absolutely pull off the upset Tuesday night.
Houston Preview | College Basketball Betting Picks
The Houston Cougars have tested themselves this year in non-conference play, but not quite as much as the Red Raiders. Nevertheless, they sport impressive wins over Auburn and an Arkansas team that Texas Tech lost to just a week before the Cougars knocked them off by nine. While there certainly isn’t much cause for concern yet, it has been eye-opening seeing their struggles over the last two games. In a home win over Middle Tennessee State and a road win over Cincinnati, both games were closer than they should have been. In the case of the Cincinnati game, Houston was actually down double-digits a few minutes into the second half.
Lately, the Cougars have struggled offensively. In both close wins, Houston shot under 43% from the field and 32% from three-point range. Houston isn’t often known for a high-scoring offense, but their recent struggles have been surprising due to how efficiently they usually operate under head coach Kelvin Sampson. With Houston certainly not being the team that would “play down” to competition or “look past” certain teams, it’s clear that they’ve hit a cold spell offensively. To beat Texas Tech, they’ll need to find their shooting stroke quickly.
Texas Tech vs Houston Prediction | College Basketball Betting Picks
This is one of the few games where no result should surprise the average college basketball fan. Both teams are incredibly strong and well-coached. Texas Tech has had more success and has looked better recently, while Houston holds a better record against what is so far the two teams’ only common opponent. All indications point to this being a close game and a slug fest that comes down to the final buzzer, but both teams have the offense to run the other out of the building if their opponents’ shots aren’t falling.
History would certainly tell us that Houston will be ready for this game and will come out swinging. With that being said, their offense has gone ice cold from the field, and this could be a game where Texas Tech rediscovers its defensive identity. With this being such a close matchup, I struggle to see where Houston wins by more than six points unless Texas Tech plays the foul game at the end for much longer than they should.
Our Texas Tech vs Houston college basketball betting prediction tonight will be TEXAS TECH +6.5 at BetUS. Sign up through our link to get a welcome bonus of up to $3,625 tonight!
For what it’s worth, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Houston an 80.8% chance to win.
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Here are the ranked top-25 college basketball games today!
- (2) Michigan vs Penn State
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- (19) Iowa vs Minnesota
- (25) UCF vs Oklahoma State
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- TCU vs (22) Kansas
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