Henry Roldán
The second round of the South bracket gives us a great commitment when this Sunday Illinois is measured against Houston. The Fighting Illini, the fourth seed in the Conference, came close to being eliminated for the second straight year in the first round after beating Chattanooga, 54-53, with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left in the game. For its part, Houston had no difficulty beating UAB 82-68 and comes into this game as the favorite.
Picks and Predictions for the Houston Cougars vs Illinois Fighting Illini – NCAA Basketball Championship Round 2 Game on March 20
- Where: PPG Paints Arenar – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- When: Sunday, March 20, 12:10 PM ET
- Betting Line: Houston Cougars (-4.5) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (+4.5)
Houston Cougars Betting Preview
- Overall Record: 29-5
- Conference Record: 29-5
- Spread: -4.5
- Over/Under: Over 134.5
- Moneyline: –200
The Cougars are a highly balanced team, they are the best in the nation in defensive efficiency and only twice in their last 15 games have they scored fewer than 70 points.
In the entire campaign they barely allowed their opponents 29% from the line of three and the Fighting come from throwing less than 20% in their first round game. On offense we already said, the battle under the board will be what will make the difference and Josh Carlton will have to show why he was seventh in offensive rebounds in the nation (113) when Cofi Cockburn is measured for dominance of the paint. Against UAB Carlton was well below his average, but in his rescue came Kyler Edwards with 25 points.
Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview
- Overall Record: 22-9
- Conference Record: 15-5
- Spread: +4.5
- Over/Under: Over 134.5
- Moneyline: +170
The Fighting can’t afford for anything in the world to repeat the horrible performance they had in the first round when they totaled just 17.6% on three-pointers and 50% from the free throw line.
Houston is one of the best defensive teams in the nation and the only way Illiinois has to come out alive on Sunday is to at least improve free throws. The Cofi Cockburn center will be the key under the boards, because although the Cougars play very well in the paint, the matchup in the rebounds and the fouls they can get in that action, will be of vital importance for a team that averaged 70 points per game and the 54 against Chattanooga were their lowest share of the campaign.
JefeBet Prediction
Illinois had an irregular end to the season and their game against Chattanooga was a clear example of this. Instead, Houston has been knocking down its rivals left and right, they are one of the best teams in the nation and their experience in the big dance will be key to this commitment. This time I leave with the points of the Cougars.
