Tulane Green Wave vs. Houston Cougars Prediction & Game Preview - 2/2/2022

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Fertitta Center, Houston, TX

Where to watch: ESPN+

DraftKings: Houston -17

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: Houston -17

Tulane: 9-9 (6-3 AAC)

No. 6 Houston: 18-2 (7-0 AAC)

With a 10-game winning streak in tow and looking like another strong March run is on the horizon, I like the Houston Cougars to keep this up heading into Wednesday’s matchup against the Tulane Green Wave at home.

The Cougars have not lost since Dec. 11, a 1-point loss to then-No. 9 Alabama. Since then, the Cougars have ran the table in the AAC with five of the seven wins decided by double digits.

Houston is coming off a 14-point win on Saturday against UCF, where for the fourth straight game, Kyler Edwards led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points despite shooting 4 of 12 from the floor; he went 4 of 11 from 3-point range and took only one shot from inside the 3-point line.

But it’s defense why this Houston team has all the capabilities of making the Final Four for the second straight season. The Cougars are giving up two points fewer than last season’s group that ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP poll. Right now at No. 6, this team appears to have bought in.

"Last year's team went 28-4, and more often than not, defense is why that team got to the Final Four. This year's team had to buy into that," said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose Cougars held UCF to 34.6 percent shooting and a season-low 49 points. "I tell people all the time, it's not hard to get talent because you can get good players. But it's about getting kids to play for something bigger than themselves, and that's what the defense is for us."

The Cougars are opening at 16.5-point favorites in some books, showing to the dominance of where they are in this conference. Houston has handled business against the spread this season, going 7-4 ATS at home and 27-18 in conference play over the past three seasons.

Houston has gone 37-8 straight up in AAC play in its last 45, and is 41-2 at home in the past three seasons. It’s hard to see them not be this dominant against a Tulane team that’s just 9-9 but 11-7 against the spread this season.

Consecutive wins over Wichita State and Tulsa have the Green Wave rolling in some momentum as of late, but Houston is just too good right now and I don’t see anyone in conference knocking them off. Dare I say the Cougars run the table at this point? It might happen. Houston by 20

The under is 4-0 in Tulane's last four as an underdog.

Tulane is 5-1 ATS in its last six games.

Houston is 4-0 ATS in its last four Wednesday games.

Houston is 7-2 ATS in its last nine as a straight-up win.

PG: Jalen Cook

SG: Sion James
SF: R.J. McGee
PF: Jaylen Forbes
C: Kevin Cross

PG: Jamal Shead

SG: Kyler Edwards
SF: Taze Moore
PF: Fabian White
C: Josh Carlton