Houston Cougars vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, 4/5/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs Duke Blue Devils

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Location: Alamodome in San Antonio, TX

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Duke (-4)

Alamodome is where the Duke Blue Devils (35-3) will take on the Houston Cougars (34-4) on Saturday in the Final Four. Duke opens as 4-point favorites. The over/under is set at 136.

The Houston Cougars faced Tennessee and walked away with a win by a score of 69-50 in their last game. Houston finished the contest with a 42.4% FG percentage (28 of 66) and converted 9 of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cougars buried 4 of 4 attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 40 with 13 of them being offensive. They also recorded 15 dimes in this contest while creating 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When talking about defense, Houston allowed their opponent to shoot 28.8% from the field on 15 out of 52 shooting. Tennessee earned 12 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. Additionally, Tennessee pulled down 34 boards (11 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Tennessee ended up shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 20 shots. They also made 5 out of their 29 shots from beyond the arc. Concerning fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 16 while Tennessee racked up 9 fouls.

LJ Cryer is a player who was a contributor in this matchup. He totaled 17 points on 6 out of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 38 minutes played and collected 7 rebounds. He finished shooting 35.3% from the floor and also totaled 4 dimes.

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Houston heads into this one with a record of 34-4 for the season. They are averaging 74.0 points per outing (168th in Division 1) while connecting on 45.4% from the floor. The Cougars are hitting 39.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (310 of 781) and 74.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Houston is grabbing 36.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 468 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 130th in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 9.0 times per game and as a group they commit 16.2 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Cougars have forced 13.4 turnovers every game and they draw 15.9 fouls. They give up 30.1% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 1st in D-1 in points per game allowed (58.3). The Cougars defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 38.2% (744 of 1,948) and they concede 31.4 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 166th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 429 surrendered on the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Duke Blue Devils got the win with a final of 85-65 when they played Alabama. The Blue Devils were able to corral 33 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for the game. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 6 steals in this contest. Alabama committed 18 fouls for the game which got the Blue Devils to the free throw line for 22 shots. They were able to bury 19 of those for a percentage of 86.4%. When it comes to shooting from downtown, Duke converted 6 of their 13 tries (46.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Blue Devils ended up going 30 out of 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.6%. The Blue Devils allowed Alabama to convert 23 of 65 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 35.4% in the matchup. They finished 25.0% from 3-point land by shooting 8 of 32 and finished the contest at 11 of 14 at the free throw line (78.6%). Regarding how they rebounded, Duke permitted Alabama to collect 27 in all (8 offensive).

Kon Knueppel ended up being a factor for the Blue Devils in this contest. He buried 6 of 15 for the game for a rate of 40.0%, and had 5 rebounds. He recorded 21 points in his 35 mins of playing time and accounted for 5 assists in the game.

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Duke has a mark of 35-3 on the year. The Blue Devils have committed 15.8 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 79.0% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 17.1 times per contest (16th in D-1) and they are turning it over 9.4 times per game. Duke has totaled 3,179 pts on the season (83.7 per contest) and they average 38.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Blue Devils are hitting on 49.6% from the field, which has them ranked 6th in the country.

The Blue Devils on the defensive side of the court are 7th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 62.6. They are able to force 11.4 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.5% from the floor (5th in college hoops). The Duke defense gives up 30.8% on three-point shots (263 of 855) and their opponents are knocking down 72.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 11.4 dimes and 30.7 rebounds per game, which ranks them 44th and 13th in the country.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Duke (-4)

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