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USATSI

It will be the first meeting in more than 60 years when the Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 12 Houston Cougars face off in the semifinals of the 2021 Maui Invitational in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The teams have met just twice before, in nonconference games early in the 1964 and '65 seasons, with the road team winning each time. The Cougars (4-0) breezed past Butler in Monday's matchup, scoring the first 17 points in a 70-52 victory at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Badgers (3-1) had to rally from a 16-4 deficit to start but came away with a relatively easy 69-58 win against Texas A&M in the opening game of the tournament Monday.  

Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Cougars as 7.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Wisconsin odds. The over-under for total points is 122.5, up a point from the opening line. Before locking in any Wisconsin vs. Houston picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,100 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has locked in on Houston vs. Wisconsin and released its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball odds and betting lines for Wisconsin vs. Houston:

  • Houston vs. Wisconsin spread: Cougars -7.5
  • Houston vs. Wisconsin over-under: 122.5 points
  • Houston vs. Wisconsin money line: Houston -320, Wisconsin +250
  • HOU: The Cougars are 5-5 ATS with no days off since 2016.
  • WISC: The Badgers are 4-6-1 ATS with no rest since 2016.

Why Houston can cover

Houston has given up just 48 points per game in its past three. It is forcing an average of 17 turnovers per game after harassing the Bulldogs into coughing the ball up 20 times Monday. Fabian White led the Cougars with 21 points and eight rebounds Monday, and Houston hopes that's a sign of things to come after he missed most of last season with a torn ACL. Marcus Sasser had led the scoring in the previous three games and is leading the team at 17.9 per game. The Cougars are 19-8 against the spread in the regular season the past two seasons.

White had a team-high eight rebounds against Butler, while frontcourt mate J'Wan Roberts had six and is leading the Cougars with 10.3 per game. Seven Houston players average at least six points and more than 13 minutes. Sasser and Kyler Edwards both can hit their 3-point shots, with Sasser hitting at a 46-percent clip and Edwards making 41.6 percent. Edwards also hits the defensive boards hard, totaling 19 defensive rebounds, second on the team to Roberts' 24. The Cougars had 11 steals and committed just 10 turnovers in Monday's opening game.

Why Wisconsin can cover 

Wisconsin is 8-5 ATS in nonconference games the past two seasons. It lost seven players from last year's team, but Brad Davison and Johnny Davis are strong scorers, and the Badgers have length inside. Davison and Davis showed Monday how dangerous they can be, as Davis scored 21 points and Davison had 19. Davison was the only senior to take advantage of the extra year, and he leads an inexperienced group that includes versatile 6-foot-9 junior Tyler Wahl, sophomores Davis and 7-footer Steven Crowl, and freshman point guard Chucky Hepburn.

UW is almost always disciplined and plays strong defense. It held Wisconsin-Green Bay to 34 points two weeks ago and allowed exactly 58 points in their three other games for an average of 52. Wisconsin grabs more than 42 rebounds per game, and four of the five starters average at least four. Crowl and Davison both have 23 (5.7 per game), with 39 of their 46 boards coming on the defensive end. Crowl and Wahl share the team lead in offensive boards with eight apiece. The Badgers are 2-2-1 ATS in neutral-site games over the past two seasons.    

How to make Houston vs. Wisconsin picks

SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, projecting 134 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine. 

So who wins Wisconsin vs. Houston? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up nearly $2,100 on its college basketball picks the last five years, and find out.