Illinois Fighting Illini (26-8, 15-6 Big Ten) vs. Houston Cougars (30-6, 16-5 Big 12)
Houston; Thursday, 10:05 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -2.5; over/under is 139.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 Houston takes on No. 13 Illinois in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars’ record in Big 12 play is 16-5, and their record is 14-1 in non-conference play. Houston is 1-2 in one-possession games.
The Fighting Illini’s record in Big Ten games is 15-6. Illinois is 116th in college basketball averaging 11.0 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 35.0% from deep. Keaton Wagler leads the team averaging 2.4 makes while shooting 40.8% from 3-point range.
Houston makes 45.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.2 percentage points higher than Illinois has allowed to its opponents (40.9%). Illinois scores 22.4 more points per game (84.7) than Houston gives up to opponents (62.3).
TOP PERFORMERS: Kingston Flemings is averaging 16.2 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals for the Cougars. Emanuel Sharp is averaging 12.5 points over the past 10 games.
David Mirkovic is averaging 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Ben Humrichous is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 7-3, averaging 76.5 points, 34.1 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.9 points per game.
Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 85.3 points, 36.3 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
