Texas played in Provo, Utah on Saturday and is is wrapping up a stretch of three games in six days against one of the most tenacious defensive teams in the country. It would not surprise me if the legs aren't as fresh over 40 minutes and Houston can bring this game to a crawl with its pace. The under is 14-6 in Houston games and given the spot on the schedule for Texas I think we see another one here.

The Cougars got their first road win in conference play at BYU. The Longhorns have struggled with keeping their opponents off the offensive glass, which is something Houston does very well. Texas returns home where they’re 10-2 SU on the season and the Cougars are 1-3 ATS on the road. Houston has shot less than 48% effectively on the road while the Longhorns shoot 56.3% at home. Not saying Texas is going to win outright, but the home environment will be there for this in-state battle and the Longhorns need to limit the turnovers.

The Longhorns have some nice resume wins recently (Baylor and Oklahoma) but Houston will certainly be the biggest if they can pull it off. This should be a defensive battle that the Houston Cougars may end up winning, but I expect it to be close and I expect the home crowd in Texas to be influential in the outcome. Houston already has two road losses and the talent gap isn't extreme between these two teams. Add the slower pace of both of these teams and I think 5.5 is too many points.