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Auburn vs Houston NCAA Tournament Round 2: How to watch, odds and predictions for March Madness

By Andrew Hughes

Auburn basketball takes on Houston on March 18 in Birmingham during the second round of the NCAA Tournament -- FWE has your odds and how to watch Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn basketball takes on Houston on March 18 in Birmingham during the second round of the NCAA Tournament -- FWE has your odds and how to watch Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser /
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Auburn basketball was able to knock off Iowa as slight favorites during March Madness’ Round of 64 as slight favorites on a Legacy Arena court in Birmingham with what was essentially a home crowd. Now, on March 18, the Tigers enter as underdogs against the No. 2 overall seed in March Madness, Houston.

The Cougars had their hands full with a No. 16-seeded Northern Kentucky squad that refused to roll over during their own first-round matchup, with star guard Marcus Sasser pulled at halftime due to a groin injury. His status is unclear of this time, though Sasser sounded optimistic about playing during the Cougars-Norse postgame presser on Thursday.

Bruce Pearl believes Houston is the best team in the country. Whether that means his Tigers will rise to the occasion or shrink under the spotlight is to be determined. Auburn basketball was knocked off in the Round of 32 in 2022 against Miami. Can they avoid the same fate in 2023?

How to watch Houston vs Auburn basketball in the NCAA Tournament Round 2

Date: Saturday, March 18

Time: 6:10 pm CT

Channel: TBS

Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live, fuboTV

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson

Houston vs Auburn NCAA Tournament Round 2 odds

According to BetMGM, Houston is a 5.5-point favorite. You can pick either team to cover the spread at -110 odds. Auburn’s moneyline is set at +200 while Houston’s is -250. The O/U is set at 132.5, and the over and under can both be nabbed at -110 odds.

Houston vs Auburn NCAA Tournament Round 2 prediction

If Auburn wins this game, the under will hit. Pearl’s squad’s best chance is to make it a grind-it-out game featuring plenty of Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams post-ups, while also needing contributions from all over a rotation that went 11 deep against Iowa.

Sasser’s health is a legitimate question, and the home-court advantage in Birmingham should help simulate The Jungle, barring a barrage of Alabama fans buying up the extremely expensive tickets for the AU-Houston/Alabama-Maryland joint session.

This game figures to be close and could legitimately go either way, but the oftentimes stagnant Auburn offense could be the team’s undoing. Take the 5.5 points sportsbooks are giving the Tigers.

Prediction: Houston 66 Auburn 63

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