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The No. 1 seed Houston Cougars aim to move one step closer to the 2025 Final Four when they take on the No. 4 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 on Friday. The Cougars are seeking their seventh trip to the Final Four, and second under head coach Kelvin Sampson. Houston defeated SIU Edwardsville 78-40 in the first round, and followed that up with an 81-76 win over Gonzaga in the second round. Purdue reached the Sweet 16 by defeating High Point 75-63 in the first round and McNeese 76-62 in the second round. 

Tipoff is at 10:09 p.m. ET from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Cougars are 8.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Purdue odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 134.5. Before making any Purdue vs. Houston picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine expert Micah Roberts.

Over the past three college basketball seasons, Roberts is 267-227, returning $1,578 to $100 players. Roberts enters the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 15-4-1 roll (+1042) over his last 20 college basketball picks involving Houston. 

Now, he has set his sights on Houston vs. Purdue and just locked his March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Purdue vs. Houston:

  • Houston vs. Purdue spread: Houston -8.5
  • Houston vs. Purdue over/under: 134.5 points                                    
  • Houston vs. Purdue money line: Houston -446, Purdue +342
  • HOU: The Cougars are 19-17 against the spread this season.
  • PUR: The Boilermakers are 19-16 against the spread this season.
  • Houston vs. Purdue picks: See who to back at SportsLine

Why Houston can cover

Houston is arguably the best defensive team remaining in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, The Cougars are allowing 58.4 points and they are holding opponents to a mark of 38.4% from the field. Offensively, Houston has balance and averages 74.5 points per game. 

Veteran guard L.J. Cryer leads the way for Houston. The former Baylor transfer averages a team-high 15.6 points per game to go along with 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Forward J'Wan Roberts leads the Cougars' supporting cast, averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. See which team to pick here.

Why Purdue can cover 

Purdue is one of the premier shooting teams remaining in the March Madness field, hitting 48.8% of its field goals and 38.5% of its 3-point attempts. The Boilermakers also do a solid job of taking care of the ball, which could bode well for them against Houston's high pressure defense. The bulk of head coach Matt Painter's rotation played key roles in last year's run to the national championship game.

Leading the way for Purdue this season is forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and guard Braden Smith. Kaufman-Renn is averaging team-highs in points (20.3) and rebounds (6.5). Smith leads the team averaging 8.5 assists to go with 16.0 points per game. See which team to pick here.

How to make Purdue vs. Houston picks

Roberts has evaluated the Houston vs. Purdue matchup from every angle and is leaning Under on the point total. He's also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping on one side of the spread. You can only find out what it is, and see which side of the spread to back, at SportsLine.

So who wins Houston vs. Purdue, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Purdue vs. Houston spread to jump on, all from the expert who is on a 15-4 roll on his college basketball picks involving Houston, and find out.