Gonzaga vs Houston Betting Preview: Cougars Slight Favorites According to Opening Odds and Betting Lines

• A heavyweight matchup between #8 Gonzaga and #1 Houston looms in the second round of March Madness
• Both teams throttled their first-round opponents
• Below, see the opening Gonzaga vs Houston odds, including spread, moneyline and total

The #1 Houston Cougars (31-4, 19-16 ATS) and #8 Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-8, 15-19 ATS) both blazed past their first-round opponents at the 2025 NCAA Tournament to set up a heavyweight clash at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, KS, this Saturday. Oddsmakers like the top-seeded Cougars to advance but the margin is smaller than most 1-vs-8 matchups.

Opening Gonzaga vs Houston Odds

The Big 12 regular-season and tournament-champion Cougars have opened as 4.5-point chalk over Mark Few’s Zags. On the moneyline, Houston is -196 favorite with the Bulldogs coming back as +162 underdogs. The over/under has opened at 139.5.

Odds as of 6:45 pm ET at FanDuel. See SBD’s updated list of the best sports betting sites.

The opening moneyline gives Houston a 65.75% implied win probability and Gonzaga 38.17%.

Houston started the tournament as the +105 favorite in the Midwest odds to reach the Final Four. Despite being the #8 seed, Gonzaga had the third-best odds in the region at +850.

Houston owns the biggest margin of victory in the tournament so far, crushing SIU Edwardsville 78-40 in a game they led by 28 at halftime. As they often do, the Cougars got contributions from up and down the lineup. Milos Uzan (11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.3 APG) had a team-high 16 points but was just one of four Houston players in double-figures.

The Cougars own the nation’s second-longest win streak at 14 games. Their last setback came by a single point at home against Texas Tech on Feb. 1. Their other three losses all came before the calendar flipped to December.

GONZ vs HOU KenPom Ratings

The analytics are the main reason the spread here is so narrow. Gonzaga lost twice as many games as Houston while playing a much weaker schedule, yet sites like KenPom, Torvik, and Haslametrics indicate the difference between the two is slim.

Houston sits third in KenPom Net Rating, six spots ahead of Gonzaga in ninth. And the stats in the table are from before Gonzaga’s rout of Georgia. They may move up to seventh or eighth in the coming hours. Gonzaga’s strength, as it is most years, is its offense. With Ryan Nembhard (10.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 9.8 APG), arguably the best point guard in the nation, running the point.

Nembhard was his usual unselfish self in Gonzaga’s runaway 89-68 win over Georgia, scoring just three points on 1-of-3 shooting while dishing out eight dimes. Khalif Battle had a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting while burgeoning sophomore Braden Huff had 18 on 8-of-11.

As a team, Gonzaga shot an electric 60% from three and 55% from the field in the lopsided victory.

Saturday’s game will be the first ever meeting between the schools on the hardcourt. They did have several common opponents this season, though. Both teams beat Baylor (Houston twice). Houston also beat West Virginia twice while the Mountaineers scored a neutral-court upset over the Zags in the Bahamas in November (86-78 OT).

But if you’re looking for a reason to back Gonzaga, the Bulldogs dominated San Diego State in a true road game (80-67) while the Aztecs were one of the four teams to hand Houston a loss (73-70 OT) on a neutral court in Las Vegas.

The highly anticipated matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Houston Cougars is set to take place in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and fans and bettors alike are eagerly awaiting the outcome. According to opening odds and betting lines, the Cougars are being pegged as slight favorites in this showdown.

Gonzaga, the number one overall seed in the tournament, has been dominant throughout the season, boasting an impressive 29-0 record. Led by star players such as Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert, the Bulldogs have shown their ability to score at will and play stifling defense. Their high-powered offense is averaging 92.1 points per game, while holding opponents to just 69.2 points per game.

On the other hand, the Houston Cougars have had a strong season as well, with a 28-3 record and a number two seed in the tournament. Led by Quentin Grimes and DeJon Jarreau, the Cougars have relied on their tough defense to stifle opponents and create scoring opportunities. They are allowing just 57.6 points per game, while scoring an average of 77.2 points per game.

When it comes to betting odds, the Cougars are currently listed as 2.5-point favorites over the Bulldogs. The over/under for total points scored in the game is set at 137.5 points. This indicates that oddsmakers believe it will be a close and low-scoring affair between these two powerhouse teams.

For bettors looking to place a wager on this game, there are several factors to consider. Gonzaga’s high-powered offense and undefeated record make them a formidable opponent, while Houston’s tough defense and ability to control the pace of the game give them an edge as well. It will likely come down to which team can execute their game plan more effectively and make key plays down the stretch.

Overall, this matchup between Gonzaga and Houston is shaping up to be a thrilling contest between two of the top teams in college basketball. With the Cougars being slight favorites according to opening odds and betting lines, it will be interesting to see how this game plays out and which team will come out on top.