The No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (32-4) meet the No. 4 seed Duke Blue Devils (26-8) on Friday night in a 2024 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 showdown. Tipoff is set for 9:39 p.m. ET from the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The Cougars are 4.5-point favorites and the over/under for total points scored is 134.5 in the latest Houston vs. Duke odds via SportsLine consensus. 

Before making any Duke vs. Houston picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 152-109 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,800 for $100 players. It also has a strong 32-21 (+890) record on top-rated spread picks this season, and it called 13 Sweet 16 teams this year. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!  

The model knows Houston senior guard L.J. Cryer has been red hot of late, and is coming off a 20-point, four-assist and three-rebound performance in Sunday's Round of 32 win over Texas A&M. It was his third double-digit scoring effort in the past four games. He had 20 points in an 82-59 win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Cryer, who is in his first season at Houston after three years at Baylor, is averaging 15.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.9 minutes.

It is also aware Duke sophomore center Kyle Filipowski has reached double-digit scoring in three of the past four games, including a 28-point and 14-rebound performance in a 74-69 loss to North Carolina State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. He scored 14 points, while adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals in Sunday's second-round tournament win over James Madison. He has nine double-doubles on the season, including a 30-point and 13-rebound effort in an 84-79 win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 13.

For Friday, the model has set its sights on Duke vs. Houston. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread is the better value! You absolutely need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Duke vs. Houston, and which side of the spread is the better value? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Duke vs. Houston spread you should be all over, all from the model that's 32-21 on top-ranked college basketball spread picks!