Houston Cougars vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/20/2022

Game Time: 12:10 pm ET, Sunday, March 20, 2022

Venue:  PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA 

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Houston -4.5, Illinois +4.5; Over/Under:  133 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Houston -4.5, Illinois +4.5; Over/Under:  133.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Houston -4.5, Illinois +4.5; Over/Under:  133.5 points

 

Houston Cougars:  30-5 (1st place, AAC)

Illinois Fighting Illini:  23-9 (2nd place, Big Ten)

 

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Houston Cougars:  4-1 last 5

Illinois Fighting Illini:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

Houston is coming into this game with a 30-5 record overall and they are 7-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 10 of their last 11 games and are coming into this one on a 4 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Memphis Tigers while their 4 wins since then have come against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Tulane Green Wave, Memphis, and the UAB Blazers in their last game. Kyler Edwards led the team in points in that game with 25 while Fabian White Jr. was next on the team with 14 points. Jamal Shead led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Edwards led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 53.3% from the field, 47.6% from 3-point range, and 53.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 76 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 59.1 PPG against them. Houston has an ATS record of 23-12 this season and their O/U record is 16-19.

 

 

Illinois is coming into this game with a 23-9 record overall and they are 3-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Indiana Hoosiers while their 4 wins in that span came against the Michigan Wolverines, the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Chattanooga Mocs in their last game. Kofi Cockburn led the team in points in that game with 17 while Alfonso Plummer was next on the team with 15 points. Trent Frazier and André Curbelo off the bench both led the team in assists in that game with 4 each while Kofi Cockburn led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 38.8% from the field, 17.6% from 3-point range, and 59.1% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 75.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 67.2 PPG against them. Illinois has an ATS record of 13-19 this season and their O/U record is 17-15.

 

Houston is coming into this game as a 4.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Houston has been playing very well in their recent games and they have been ripping through their opponents ever since the AAC tourney. They suffered a loss to Memphis in their last game of the regular season but they have regrouped since then winning their last 4 straight games and all of those wins were by double digits as well. They just smashed UAB in round 1 of this tourney and they are going up against an Illinois side that has not been playing well at all recently. Illinois is the higher seed here but even the books have Houston as the favorite here, and rightly so after that round 1 performance from Illinois. Illinois took on an even lower seed in Chattanooga than what Houston had to face and Illinois only escaped with a 1 point win. Even their coach said after the game that his team did not deserve to win that game. Illinois also finished their season off with 3 very close wins against average opponents and they crashed out of the Big Ten tourney with a 2 point loss to Indiana as well. Illinois has started to play awful at the worst time of the year and it is not going to go well for them here against Houston who has been breezing through their recent games. Houston will send Illinois home in this game and cover the spread in the process. 

 

Houston Illinois Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Sunday, March 20, 2022 (12:10 pm ET start time) is Houston 78 Illinois 68.

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Houston Cougars: 23-12 ATS in all games. 15-5 ATS in all neutral court games. 16-11 UNDER after scoring 80 points or more.

Illinois Fighting Illini: 13-19 ATS in all games. 99-57 UNDER after 5 straight games committing 14 or less turnovers. 27-12 UNDER in a post-season tournament game.

 

 

Houston Cougars:  R. Walker Jr. (G) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury. T. Mark (G) out for season - Shoulder injury. M. Sasser (G) out for season - Toe injury. K. Powell (C) out for season - Redshirt.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  A. Hutcherson (G) out for season - Hernia.

 

 

“We had to kind of reacquaint ourselves with who we were defensively. Defensively, second half, I thought we were outstanding in just about every facet, our ball screen coverages, side pick-and-roll, mid pick-and-roll, our shot contest, defensive rebounding.” - Kelvin Sampson on his team’s win against UAB in round 1.

 

 

"I told (Chattanooga coach) Lamont (Paris) they played better than us, and we just happened to have more points than them at the end, and we led at the right time." - Brad Underwood on his team’s win against Chattanooga in round 1.

 

 

 

J. Carlton 

Kyler Edwards 

T. Moore

J. Shead 

F. White

 

K. Cockburn

T. Frazier 

J. Grandison 

A. Plummer

D. Williams

 

 

PPG: M. Sasser (17.7)

APG: J. Shead (5.9)

Reb/G: J. Carlton (6.6)

 

PPG: K. Cockburn (21)

APG: T. Frazier (4)

Reb/G: K. Cockburn (10.6)

 

Coaches:

Houston Cougars: Kelvin Sampson (8th season)

Illinois Fighting Illini: Brad Underwood (5th season)