Colorado vs Houston Prediction 3/13/25 College Basketball Picks

The Colorado Buffaloes and the Houston Cougars meet Thursday in Big 12 Tournament college basketball action from Sprint Center. Here’s a Colorado vs Houston prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Colorado vs Houston pick. We will examine: 

The Colorado Buffaloes’ recent form and player performance

The Houston Cougars’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Colorado Buffaloes

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Houston Cougars

Recent betting trends in games played between Colorado vs Houston

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Colorado vs Houston game

Colorado Buffaloes Betting Preview

The Buffaloes started out the year on a pretty good clip, but since late December it’s been a rocky road. Colorado lost just two of their first 11 games, then took defeats versus Iowa State, Arizona State, UCF, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, TCU, Utah, Houston, and Kansas in succession. Wins over UCF and Baylor came in the next three, then losses to Kansas, Kansas State, and Texas State. Since then, however, the Buffaloes have beaten TCU twice then West Virginia, giving the team a 14-19 overall run this year. 

On Wednesday versus West Virginia in the second round of the conference tournament, the Buffaloes went into halftime with a six-point deficit. Colorado came back on a 44-31 run and took the win in the end 67-60. Tops in scoring was Elijah Malone with 14 points, four rebounds, and one assist off the bench. RJ Smith had 13 bench points with five rebounds and two blocks. Tops among starters was Andrej Jakimovski with 11 points and six rebounds. 

Houston Cougars Betting Preview

Over on the Houston side, they opened on a shaky run with three losses in their first seven games. The Cougars would take out Butler, Troy, Toledo, Texas A&M-CC, Oklahoma State, BYU, TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia, UCF, Utah, Kansas, and West Virginia in succession after that, though. Houston fell to Texas Tech to kick off February, but since then they’ve beaten Oklahoma State, Colorado, Baylor, Arizona, Arizona State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Kansas, and Baylor. That gives Houston a nice 27-4 run through 31 games so far. 

In their last matchup versus Baylor over the weekend the Cougars faced a three-point deficit by halftime. Houston rallied in the second on a 39-32 run though, eventually taking the comeback victory 65-61 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was LJ Cryer with 23 points and two rebounds, while J’Wan Roberts managed to double up on 11 points and 10 boards. Milos Uzan chipped in 12 points with three assists and two rebounds in 31 minutes as well. 

Why the Houston Cougars will win

• Houston has won each of its last 11 games when playing with a rest advantage.
• Colorado has lost 13 of its last 14 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Houston has won the first half in 25 of its last 27 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Colorado Buffaloes will win

• Colorado has won five of its last six day games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Colorado’s last nine games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 128+ points.
• Five of Houston’s last six day games at a neutral venue have produced a total of 136+ points.

Matchup/League Facts

• Houston ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for opponent steals per game this season (4.7).
• Houston ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for net rating this season (+25.6).

Colorado vs Houston Prediction 

I was initially leaning toward Houston here, but with the line so thick I’m going with the Buffs. The Cougars didn’t play spectacular basketball against Baylor on the road last weekend, posting a 38-33 rebounding deficit with just seven team assists in a four-point result. It was good enough to keep the win streak going though, and Houston has now won 10 in a row. The Cougars have finished below 70 points in six of those 10 games though, so they’re not the most overwhelming team on offense. 

The last time these teams met up was one of those 10 wins, a 69-59 road victory for the Cougars back on February 8. Houston looked more like themselves in that matchup, hitting 48.2 percent from the field with a 38-26 rebounding edge and just nine turnovers. Colorado shot 41.3 percent on the other side with 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from outside and 12 turnovers that turned into 12 Houston points. I could see Colorado staying close if the score finishes on the low side.