Tuesday’s action at the Players Era Festival includes the Tennessee Volunteers going up against the Houston Cougars. Both teams enter the contest undefeated at 6–0 and looking to take advantage of this opportunity to prove that they are one of the best teams in the country. Here, I break down this important early-season matchup from Las Vegas and bring you my Tennessee vs Houston prediction.
Our Tennessee vs Houston Pick
- Pick: Houston –3.5
- Confidence: 3 out of 5
Get more college basketball picks before today’s games!
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Tennessee Volunteers vs Houston Cougars
- Date & Time: Tuesday, November 25, 2025, 6:00 PM ET
- Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Broadcast: TNT
Key Storylines
- Houston comes in with an elite defense. The Cougars are known for locking teams down and forcing low-percentage shots. They are giving up 56.8 points per game and rank first in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
- Tennessee has been excellent on defense as well, giving up 61.5 points per game. As a result, we could be in for a low-scoring game where every possession is intense.
- Houston survived an overtime game against the unranked Syracuse Orange in their first game of this event from Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the second leg of a back-to-back against a very good opponent with that in mind.
- Tennessee had a much easier day than Houston on Monday. The Vols beat Rutgers by 25 points in their first game at this event and Tennessee will try to shut down another opponent in this neutral-site matchup.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
The last time these teams met was the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where Houston beat Tennessee convincingly by a score of 69–50. Tennessee shot poorly, especially from three-point range, and Houston’s defense set the tone early. That Elite Eight performance remains fresh in the minds of both sides.
So far this season, both of these teams are 2-4 against the spread. Houston failed to cover the number against Syracuse on Monday, while Tennessee covered a big number convincingly as the favorite against Rutgers.
Houston has gone 3-3 in the over/under market heading into this game. Tennessee has seen four of their first six games go over their totals. The totals for games involving these teams have been low for the most part and that is the case again in this contest.
Houston vs Tennessee Model Projection
Score Projection: Houston 69 – Tennessee 64
Win Probability: Houston 62%, Tennessee 38%
Final Thoughts
Both of these teams are going to make this game a fight on both ends of the floor with their defense and their physicality. We should see the Houston Cougars get the win in this matchup and I’ll take them to cover the spread. But this game could go either way and will come down to which team can hit some outside shots to loosen up some tough defense from their opposition.
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