Tennessee Volunteers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 11/25/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ESPN+

The Tennessee Volunteers (5-0) are hitting the road to MGM Grand Garden Arena on Tuesday where they will try to beat the Houston Cougars (5-0).

The Tennessee Volunteers faced off with Tennessee State and walked away with a win by a score of 89-60 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Volunteers left the arena with 20 and Tennessee State finished the game with 23 fouls. They also converted 5 out of their 27 attempts from 3-point range. Tennessee State shot 76.0% when shooting free throws by making 19 of 25 attempts. Additionally, Tennessee State collected 26 rebounds (9 offensive, 17 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Tennessee State dished out 11 assists and had 12 steals for this contest. In regard to the defense, Tennessee allowed their opponent to shoot 32.1% from the floor on 18 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 20 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 21 turnovers and having 12 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they collected 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Volunteers made 31 of 35 tries for a rate of 88.6%. Tennessee finished the game with a 43.9% FG percentage (25 of 57) and converted 8 out of their 25 3-pointers.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He finished shooting 53.8% from the floor and also dished out 5 dimes. He played 31 minutes and collected 4 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

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Tennessee comes into this matchup with a mark of 5-0 on the season. They are averaging 90.0 pts per game (46th in D-1) on 50.2% from the field. The Volunteers are hitting 35.0% from downtown (41 of 117) and 77.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Tennessee is grabbing 47.6 rebounds per game and has 112 assists this season, which ranks 34th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 14.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Volunteers are forcing 14.0 turnovers every game and they draw 19.4 fouls. They surrender 25.5% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 19th in college hoops in PPG allowed (61.8). The Volunteers defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 34.0% (104 of 306) and they surrender 28.4 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 40th in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 50 surrendered this year.

In their last game, the Houston Cougars got the win with a final of 91-45 against Rider. The Cougars were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 in the game. They turned the ball over 7 times, while earning 13 steals in the matchup. Rider committed 10 fouls in this matchup which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 7 tries. They were able to bury 7 of those for a rate of 100.0%. In regard to shots from 3-point land, Houston converted 10 of 26 attempts (38.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Cougars went 37 for 66 from the field which had them shooting 56.1%. The Cougars permitted Rider to bury 16 of 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 30.8% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 23.5% from beyond the arc by hitting 4 of 17 and finished the contest at 9 out of 9 from the charity stripe (100.0%). When talking about attacking the glass, Houston permitted Rider to snag 23 overall (6 offensive).

Kingston Flemings ended up being a factor for the Cougars for this contest. He totaled 18 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and had 5 assists in this contest. He made 8 of 10 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 80.0%, but wasn't able to snag a rebound.

Houston has a win-loss record of 5-0 for the season. The Cougars are committing 17.6 fouls per game and they shoot 79.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.2 times per game (77th in college) and they turn the ball over 9.6 times per contest. Houston has 382 points so far this season (76.4 per contest) and they grab 39.4 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 45.8% from the field, which is ranked 178th in the nation.

The Cougars defensively are ranked 2nd in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 53.4. They have forced 15.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 35.2% from the floor (11th in college). The Houston defense allows 24.7% from downtown (21 of 85) and their opponents are connecting on 66.0% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 7.8 dimes and 33.4 boards per game, which is ranked 4th and 121st in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston

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