2024 NCAA Tournament odds, picks: Duke vs. Houston prediction, time, best bets by expert on 83-58 roll

SportsLine's Zack Cimini just locked in his college basketball picks for Houston Cougars vs. Duke Blue Devils on Friday in the Sweet 16 of March Madness 2024

By CBS Sports Staff Mar 29, 2024 at 7:00 pm ET• 3 min read

The No. 4 Duke Blue Devils attempt to end a dubious streak when they meet the top-seeded Houston Cougars in the South Region Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Duke (26-8), which rolled past Vermont and James Madison in its first two March Madness games, has lost six straight meetings with higher-seeded teams in "The Big Dance." Houston (32-4) is looking to match the single-season program record for victories after defeating Longwood and Texas A&M. The Cougars set the school mark of 33 wins in 2018-19 and tied it last season.

Tipoff from American Airlines Center in Dallas is set for 9:39 p.m. ET. The Cougars are 4.5-point favorites in the latest Houston vs. Duke odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 134.5. Before making any Duke vs. Houston picks, you need to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Zack Cimini.

A Las Vegas handicapper who's never afraid to buck conventional wisdom, Cimini entered the Sweet 16 as SportsLine's most profitable college basketball expert. He's 83-58-2 on his last 143 college basketball picks, returning $1,880 for $100 players. Anyone following him has seen huge returns.

Now, Cimini has his sights on Duke vs. Houston and just locked in his Sweet 16 predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Houston vs. Duke: