Houston vs Auburn Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 18 NCAA Tournament Game (Cougars' Offense Steps Up)

Houston vs Auburn Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 2 Houston (32-3) vs. Auburn (21-12)
• Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
• Time: 7:10 PM ET
• Venue: Legacy Arena at BJCC -- Birmingham, Alabama
• Coverage: TBS

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 begins on Saturday, featuring a Midwest Region clash between the No. 1 Houston Cougars and No. 9 Auburn Tigers.

Houston cruised to the second round following a low-scoring 63-52 victory over No. 16 Northern Kentucky. Meanwhile, Auburn came out on the right side of an 83-75 shootout with No. 8 Iowa as Johni Broome led the Tigers with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Will Houston move on to the Sweet 16? Or does Auburn have what it takes to pull off the upset?

Houston vs Auburn Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: HOU: (-245) | AUBURN: (+198)
• Spread: HOU: -5.5 (-115) | AUBURN: +5.5 (-105)
• Total: 131.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Houston enters this contest as a clear favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7:10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 131.5 points with both sides being available at -110 odds.

Houston vs Auburn Betting Trends

• Against the spread, Houston is 18-17-0 this year.
• Against the spread as 6.5-point favorites or more, the Cougars are 17-15.
• Houston has seen 16 of its 35 games hit the over.
• Auburn has 16 wins in 33 games against the spread this season.
• The Tigers are unbeaten ATS (2-0) as a 6.5-point underdog or greater this season.
• Out of Auburn's 33 games so far this year, 20 have gone over the total.

Houston Rank	Houston AVG		Auburn AVG	Auburn Rank
108th	74.7	Points Scored	73	145th
2nd	56.4	Points Allowed	67.3	96th
12th	36	Rebounds	32.9	107th
8th	11.5	Off. Rebounds	9.8	71st
137th	7.7	3pt Made	6.5	279th
58th	14.8	Assists	14.2	97th
17th	9.6	Turnovers	11.7	158th

Houston vs Auburn Prediction & Pick

Auburn won't replicate its offensive success against Iowa here. The Cougars only surrender 56.4 PPG (No. 2) while holding opponents to 36.1% shooting from the floor (No. 1) and a 27.3% success rate from three-point range (No. 2). Even though the Tigers hit 36.4% of their threes against the Hawkeyes, that was an anomaly considering how they're only shooting 31.5% from behind the arc this season (No. 309).

Despite the win, Auburn was outrebounded 44-38 by Iowa. Now, Bruce Pearl's team must deal with a Houston squad that averages 38.9 rebounds per contest (No. 15). With the Cougars locking the Tigers down on the perimeter and likely winning the paint battles, it's clear that Houston is in a great position to move on.

Final Score Prediction: Houston: 76 | Auburn: 68

Houston vs Auburn Best Bet

For the best bet, I'm going with the total going over 131.5 points. Auburn's defense hasn't played well lately, surrendering an average of 73.7 points over the last three games. I expect Houston to take advantage of that since it averages a respectable 74.7 PPG on 46.2% shooting.

Houston will have to do most of the work due to its strong defense, but a 131.5-point total is low enough to be surpassed without issue.

Bet: Over 131.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.