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Houston Cougars vs Arkansas Razorbacks Picks

Prudential Center

<p>Both of these top 15 teams are a long way from home as the No. 8 Houston Cougars and No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks head up to New Jersey for this showdown at the Prudential Center. Kelvin Sampson and John Calipari have their teams off to a combined 19-3 record this season, with all losses able to be deemed forgivable in my eyes. However tomorrow the two lead their squads against each other on CBS, and only one can win. Who will it be? Let&#8217;s find out who our expert&#8217;s like with their picks below.</p>
<h4>More Saturday NCAA Basketball Coverage</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/texas-tech-duke-picks-predictions-2025-12-20/"><strong>#19 Texas Tech vs. #3 Duke</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/auburn-purdue-picks-predictions-2025-12-20/"><strong>#20 Auburn vs. #6 Purdue</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/san-diego-state-arizona-picks-predictions-2025-12-20/"><strong>San Diego State vs. #1 Arizona</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/22-st-johns-vs-kentucky-odds-predictions-december-20-2025/"><strong>#22 St. John&#8217;s vs. Kentucky</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/12-north-carolina-vs-ohio-state-odds-props-december-20-2025/"><strong>#12 North Carolina vs. Ohio State</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/author/nate/">Go check out what else I&#8217;ve got on</a> my daily card, and view the latest odds at the <a href="/best-online-sportsbooks/">best online sportsbooks.</a></p>
<h2><a href="/ncaab/matchup/2025-12-20-houston_cougars-arkansas_razorbacks-n-1/">#8 Houston Cougars vs. #14 Arkansas Razorbacks NCAA Basketball Insights</a></h2>
<div id="attachment_92939" style="width: 1210px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-92939" class="size-full wp-image-92939" src="https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/kingston-flemings-houston-basketball.jpg" alt="Freshmen Kingston Flemings and Darius Acuff will be going head to head this Saturday - Houston Arkansas Picks" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/kingston-flemings-houston-basketball.jpg 1200w, https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/kingston-flemings-houston-basketball-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/kingston-flemings-houston-basketball-1024x576.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><p id="caption-attachment-92939" class="wp-caption-text">Freshmen Kingston Flemings and Darius Acuff will be going head to head this Saturday</p></div>
<p>The Houston Cougars are off to a 10-1 start after losing in the National Championship in early April. Their one loss this season came against the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers in their second matchup of the Player&#8217;s Era Festival. This was just a day after they squeaked by Syracuse in overtime in Las Vegas, and they didn&#8217;t beat Notre Dame as well as they should have following the loss to the Vols. But, since those three games, Houston has won three straight, covering every single spread. Could they do it again against the Hogs?</p>
<p>Arkansas is just 9-2 this year, losing to the No. 22 ranked Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing by three points, and to the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils by nine, covering the 11.5 point spread. As for wins, the Razorbacks beat No. 6 Louisville by nine at home following their Duke loss, and beat No. 16 Texas Tech in Dallas last Saturday in a come from behind win. They put up 110 against Queens this week, but now face possibly the best defense in the country.</p>
<h3>Matchup Information &#8211; Houston vs. Arkansas &#8211; December 20</h3>
<ul>
<li>Venue &amp; Location: Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)</li>
<li>Date: Saturday, December 20, 2025</li>
<li>Kick Off: 5:30 p.m. Eastern</li>
<li>Broadcast: CBS</li>
</ul>
<h3>Houston vs. Arkansas Betting Odds</h3>
<p><em><a href="https://affiliates.bettingnews.com/register/luckyrebel-articles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Odds are courtesy of Lucky Rebel</a>, one of our favorite online sportsbooks, as of December 19, 2025 at 3:16 p.m. eastern. Sign up today with and get a $1,250 deposit bonus, as well as 50 slot spins immediately. Lucky Rebel Sportsbook offers a wide variety of unique markets across nearly every sport imaginable.</em></p>
<h4>Spread</h4>
<ul>
<li>Houston -4.5 (-110)</li>
<li>Arkansas +4.5 (-110)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Total</h4>
<ul>
<li>Over 143.5 (-110)</li>
<li>Under 143.5 (-110)</li>
</ul>
<p>This game will be a battle of tempo, as Houston is the 12th slowest team in the country while the Razorbacks are top 50. One will want to get out and run, while the other will focus on taking time in their sets. Regardless, I do think this spread is a bit too large.</p>
<h2><a href="/ncaab/matchup/2025-12-20-houston_cougars-arkansas_razorbacks-n-1/">#8 Houston vs. #14 Arkansas NCAA Basketball Picks and Predictions</a></h2>
<div id="attachment_89602" style="width: 1210px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-89602" class="size-full wp-image-89602" src="https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Darius-acuff-arkansas-basketball.jpg" alt="Darius Acuff Jr. averages 18.2 points and 6.1 assists in 32.2 minutes per game, leading Arkansas in every category - Arkansas Houston Picks" width="1200" height="619" srcset="https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Darius-acuff-arkansas-basketball.jpg 1200w, https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Darius-acuff-arkansas-basketball-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.bettingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Darius-acuff-arkansas-basketball-1024x528.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><p id="caption-attachment-89602" class="wp-caption-text">Darius Acuff Jr. averages 18.2 points and 6.1 assists in 32.2 minutes per game, leading Arkansas in every category</p></div>
<h3>Houston vs. Arkansas Prediction: Arkansas Wins Outright, Under 143.5</h3>
<h3><a href="https://affiliates.bettingnews.com/register/luckyrebel-articles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Best Bet: Arkansas +4.5 (-110) Lucky Rebel Sportsbook</a></h3>
<p>Back the Heartbreak Hogs with me this weekend, and if you want, tell the books to keep the points. I&#8217;ve got a half unit on the moneyline at +180 as well as the +4.5 in this game. Woo Pig Sooie.</p>
<p>The Houston Cougars are second in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and top 10 in eFG% defense. They force tons of turnovers, but the Hogs are No. 7 in taking care of the basketball. This will be crucial in trying to pull off this upset. Houston crashes the offensive glass, but they are allergic at drawing fouls. The Cougars are bottom 10 in the country at getting to the free throw line, and are just an average shooting team. If the Hogs can get in their grill and disrupt this slow offense, much like they did with Texas Tech, they&#8217;ll be able to breakout for some quick scores.</p>
<p>Arkansas is top 15 in FT Rate defense, so again, Houston won&#8217;t spend much time at the line. Plus, the Hogs hold their opponents to just 28.8% from deep, ranking No. 29 in the country. They matchup well with the Cougars, and Houston has struggled in every single game away from home. I have bought in to this Razorbacks team and will gladly continue to back them in big games.</p>
<h2>Still Didn&#8217;t Get Your NCAA Basketball Fix?</h2>
<p>Here at Betting News, we offer <a href="/picks/">Free Expert Picks</a> for every major sports league. We also host daily streams on our <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/bettingnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitch Channel with our best bets</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.playback.tv/bettingnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sweat out games on Playback!</a> Be sure to tune into everything we have going on at our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@YourBettingNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Youtube</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@yourbettingnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/YourBettingNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X pages as well,</a> and <a href="https://x.com/Shaggy_Bets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow my personal twitter @Shaggy_Bets for my full daily card.</a></p>
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<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/ncaa-basketball-transfer-portal-national-championship-odds-update/">Transfer Portal Update</a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/ncaa-basketball-preview-picks-predictions-2025-2026-college-hoops-breakdown/">2025-2026 NCAA Basketball Preview</a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/2025-2026-sec-basketball-preview-picks-predictions-futures/">SEC Basketball Preview</a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/2025-26-big-12-basketball-conference-preview-picks-predictions/">Big 12 Conference Picks</a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/2025-26-big-ten-basketball-conference-preview-picks-predictions/">Big Ten Conference Predictions</a></li>
<li><a href="/articles/ncaab/2025-26-acc-basketball-preview-picks-predictions/">ACC Basketball Preview</a></li>
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