Butler vs. Houston Prediction and Odds: Cougars Looking for First Road Win of the Season at the Maui Invitational.

The Maui Invitation continues this afternoon with a matchup between the Butler Bulldogs and the No. 15 Houston Cougars.

The Cougars had a close call on opening night against Hofstra, winning 83-75 in overtime but has since beaten up on Rice and Virginia. Houston is off to a hot start and look to follow up last season’s Final Four appearance with another title run. 

Butler now heads to Las Vegas with a 3-1 record coming off a tough loss 73-52 at home to the Michigan State Spartans. Before that loss, Butler was on a three-game win streak with victories over IUPUI, Central Arkansas, and Troy. Despite this game taking place on neutral ground in Sin City, Butler is the “home” team. 

Here are the odds for this matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Butler vs. Houston Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

• Butler+9.5 (-116)
• Houston -9.5 (-108)

Moneyline:

• Butler+320
• Houston -430

Total: 123.0 (Over -112/Under -112)

Butler vs. Houston Prediction and Pick

Butler is coming off a pretty dominant loss to Michigan State on Wednesday night and I think a bounce back won’t come until after this tournament. The Bulldogs managed to shoot just 28.6% from the field and went a combined nine for 30 from downtown. They also lost the rebounding battle 41-25 and were never really in the game after they held a 3-2 lead to start. Butler is decent from the charity stripe but other than that, their offense needs a kick-start before they can hang with a team like Houston. 

The Cougars cruised No. 25 Virginia to extend their win streak at home to 28 games and moved to 4-0 on the season. This will be their first away game of 2021 and it will be interesting to see if they can carry their momentum on the trip. 

Despite their early struggles against Hofstra, Houston is a much better team and has noticeably improved since opening night. The Cougars play very strong defense which will be a problem for a Bulldogs’ offense that is struggling to find its groove. After Butler got crushed by MSU, it's hard to expect anything different from this game against a ranked opponent. I’m siding with Houston to win, cover and advance to the semifinals in Vegas. 

Pick: Houston -9.5 (110)