Houston Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX

TV: ESPN

United Supermarkets Arena is where the Texas Tech Red Raiders (15-4) will take on the Houston Cougars (17-1) on Saturday.

The Houston Cougars took the court against Arizona State and walked away with a win by a score of 103-73 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 15 and Arizona State recorded 10 personal fouls. They made 9 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc. Arizona State finished the contest at 83.3% at the free throw line by making 20 of 24 attempts. Additionally, Arizona State pulled down 25 rebounds (8 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Arizona State doled out 16 assists and had 8 steals in this game. In the matter of defense, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 40.7% from the floor on 22 out of 54 shooting. They also distributed 22 assists for the contest while forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and having 12 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 32 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Cougars made 11 of their 12 attempts for a percentage of 91.7%. Houston finished the game having earned a 56.3% FG percentage (40 out of 71) and converted 12 of 25 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Kingston Flemings is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished 57.1% from the floor and also dished out 8 assists. He played 34 minutes played and also snagged 4 boards. He accounted for 20 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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Houston heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 17-1 on the year. They have an average of 78.7 pts per game (139th in college) while shooting 44.9% from the field. The Cougars are shooting 34.2% from downtown (165 of 483) and 76.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston is grabbing 37.9 boards per game and is sitting with 290 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 144th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 8.7 times per game and as a team they commit 17.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 15.6 turnovers per game and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. They are 7th in college in giving up assists with 188 conceded this season. The Cougars defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.1% (361 of 923) and they surrender 33.2 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 30.5% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 2nd in D-1 in PPG allowed (60.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Texas Tech Red Raiders got the victory with a final of 92-73 against Baylor. When discussing rebounding, Texas Tech permitted Baylor to snag 26 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 33.3% from distance by connecting on 7 of 21 and ended up shooting 10 of 20 from the free throw line (50.0%). The Red Raiders permitted Baylor to make 28 out of 57 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.1% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Red Raiders walked away from this one shooting 33 for 55 from the field which had them shooting 60.0%. Concerning shots from downtown, Texas Tech made 17 out of 27 tries (63.0%). They were able to bury 9 of the free throws for a percentage of 81.8%. Baylor committed 12 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Red Raiders to the charity stripe for 11 tries. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while getting 7 steals in this game. The Red Raiders corralled 21 defensive boards and 2 offensive boards for a total of 23 in this game.

Christian Anderson was important for the Red Raiders for the game. He buried 9 out of 15 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and accumulated 3 rebounds. He racked up 26 points in his 38 minutes on the court and added 6 assists in this contest.

Texas Tech has a win-loss record of 15-4 so far this year. The Red Raiders commit 16.4 fouls per contest while shooting 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 16.2 times per game (78th in D-1) and they turn it over 10.4 times per contest. Texas Tech has 1,593 pts for the year (83.8 per game) and they pull down 38.0 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Red Raiders are connecting on 47.3% from the field, which ranks 84th in college.

The Red Raiders on the defensive side of the court are 171st in college in points given up per game with 73.1. They are able to force 11.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.1% from the field (206th in college). The Texas Tech defense allows 31.9% on 3-pointers (128 of 401) and opponents are making 68.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 10.9 dimes and 34.4 total boards per game, which ranks them 26th and 180th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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