Houston vs. Idaho odds, prediction: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model

The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins on Thursday, and one of the final games of the day is No. 2 seed Houston vs. No. 15 seed Idaho in the South Region. Houston was the preseason No. 2 team in the nation and climbed to the No. 1 spot this year, and enters March Madness 2026 ranked fifth nationally. Idaho went on a Cinderella run in the Big Sky Tournament, winning the conference tournament as the No. 7 seed. 

Tipoff from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET. The Cougars are 23.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Idaho odds, a 4-point rise from opening at -19.5. The over/under is at 137.5. The Coogs are at -9091 on the money line (risk $9,091 to win $100), with the Vandals priced at +2550.

Before making any Houston vs. Idaho picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on top-ranked over/under picks dating back to last year, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Houston vs. Idaho 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is going Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time!

So who wins Idaho vs. Houston, and which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times!