Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville prediction, picks for 2025 NCAA Tournament
Editor's note: Follow Men's March Madness live scores and updates for Thursday's first-round games.
The 2025 men's NCAA Tournament has arrived and the madness is set to begin.
The Midwest Region's top seed is in action on Thursday as Houston faces off with SIU Edwardsville.
The Houston Cougars finished the 2024-25 season with a 30-4 record and captured the program's first Big 12 tournament title. That impressive result earned them a No. 1 seed in the 2025 March Madness bracket, their third top seed in a row. Their opponent, the SIU Edwardsville Cougars, are making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning the Ohio Valley Conference title. That result and a program-best 22-11 record earned them a No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region.
Houston ranks as the third-best team in the KenPom rankings with the No. 10-ranked offense and No. 2-ranked defense in the country. SIU Edwardsville ranks 217th overall. They're rated much higher on defense (160th) than on offense (255th).
Here's how our experts see Thursday's Round of 64 clash playing out. Be sure to check out Paste BN's complete March Madness bracket predictions to see our team's picks for every game. While you're at it, don't forget to read our tournament bold predictions and upset picks.
Here's our Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville picks and predictions.
Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville picks and predictions
- Jordan Mendoza: Houston
- Paul Myerberg: Houston
- Erick Smith: Houston
- Eddie Timanus: Houston
- Dan Wolken: Houston
- Craig Meyer: Houston 77, SIU Edwardsville 48
No 16-1 upsets here. All of our experts are in agreement that Houston will be advancing past its tournament opener. It's a consensus pick for at least the Elite Eight among these experts and one of them, Jordan Mendoza, picked Houston to win the national championship.
Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville date, start time, how to watch
- Game Day: Thursday, March 20
- Game Time: 2 p.m. ET
- Location: INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas
- TV Channel: TBS
- Live Stream: Fubo - Watch Now!
Watch Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville on Fubo
Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville odds
Odds as of Tuesday, March 18 via BetMGM.
- Spread: Houston -29.5 (-105)
- Moneyline Favorite: Houston -10000
- Moneyline Underdog: SIU Edwardsville +3300
- Total: 126.5
March Madness game-by-game predictions for Thursday
- Creighton vs Louisville prediction, picks
- High Point vs Purdue prediction, picks
- Montana vs Wisconsin prediction, picks
- SIU Edwardsville vs Houston prediction, picks
- Alabama St. vs Auburn prediction, picks
- McNeese vs. Clemson prediction, picks
- VCU vs BYU prediction, picks
- Georgia vs Gonzaga prediction, picks
- Wofford vs Tennessee prediction, picks
- Arkansas vs Kansas prediction, picks
- Yale vs Texas A&M prediction, picks
- Drake vs Missouri prediction, picks
- Utah St. vs UCLA prediction, picks
- Nebraska Omaha vs St. John's prediction, picks
- UCSD vs Michigan prediction, picks
- N.C. Wilmington vs Texas Tech prediction, pick
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