No. 1 seed Houston will try to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 when it faces No. 9 seed Texas A&M in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night. The Cougars cruised to an 86-46 win over No. 16 seed Longwood on Friday after taking a 43-16 lead at the end of the first half. Texas A&M took a 14-point lead at halftime against No. 8 seed Nebraska before maintaining its lead in the second half. Houston notched a 70-66 victory when these in-state foes met in December. 

Tipoff is set for 8:40 p.m. ET from FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. The Cougars are 9.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Texas A&M odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 134.5 (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page). 

Before making any Texas A&M vs. Houston picks, you NEED to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 148-106 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 29-19 (+810) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!

The model has factored in that Houston got off to a fast start on Friday, as it took a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into the game and held Longwood to just 16 points in the first half. The Cougars closed the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and won their first two games of the Big 12 Tournament before losing to Iowa State in the title game. They are led by senior guard L.J. Cryer, who is averaging 15.4 points per game. 

The model has also considered that Texas A&M has won six of its last seven games, including its blowout win over Nebraska in the first round. The Aggies shot 49.3% from the floor and 56.5% from 3-point range, as junior guard Wade Taylor had 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Senior guard Tyrece Radford added a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

Now, the model has set its sights on Houston vs. Texas A&M. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Houston vs. Texas A&M, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from that's on a 29-19 roll on top-rated college basketball spread picks!