Houston vs. Virginia Prediction and Odds for Saturday, December 17 (Trust Cougars on Road)

Two of the best teams in the country meet in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday.

Houston suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday, squandering a late second half lead to Alabama, but has the opportunity to get an elite victory back with a road game against the resurgent Virginia Cavaliers.

Houston beat Virginia at home 67-47 last season, but the Woos are looking more and more like a top 10 team this season, but could be undermanned for this matchup. Let's dive into the numbers and find a best bet for this game;

Houston vs. Virginia Odds, Spread and Total

Houston vs. Virginia Prediction and Pick

This is going to be a rock fight with very limited possessions on either side, but I think Houston presents too many challenges on both ends for the Cavaliers to keep up, especially if Reece Beekman can't go.

We won't know until warm ups if Beekman, the Cavaliers forward that can attack the Houston defense in the paint, but even if he does go, I'm not bullish on him being 100%.

With that being said, I believe that Houston's ability to crash the glass and create a surplus of field goal attempts will be the difference. The Woos' packline defense is as good as they come in the country, but they still struggle on the glass, 170th in defensive rebounding rate. That's an issue against a Houston team that is fifth in offensive rebounding rate.

If Beekman can't go, I struggle to see Virginia creating enough offense, but even if he does, I lean towards Houston scratching out this low scoring affair. With a low total, I'm simply going to take the better team to win the game. If Beekman is out, this line should continue to move towards Kelvin Sampson's bunch.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.