2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 4 Illinois Fighting Illini Racers vs. No. 5 Houston Cougars
How to Watch:
- Date: Sunday, March 20
- Time: 12:10 p.m. ET
- Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 4 ILL | STAT | No.5 HOU |
| Big Ten | Conference | American |
| 23-9 | Record | 30-5 |
| 75.8 (63rd) | Points Per Game | 75.8 (62nd) |
| 67.6 | Points Allowed Per Game | 58.9 |
| 0.5968 (29th) | RPI | 0.6335 (8th) |
| 13th | Strength of Schedule | 93rd |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | Automatic Bid |
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Illinois leaders:
- Kofi Cockburn, C, JR: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 59.8% FG
- Trent Frazier, G, SR: 12.1 points, 2.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.3 SPG
Houston leaders:
- Kyler Edwards, G, SR: 16.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.0 SPG
- Fabian White Jr., F, SR: 13.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 50.7% FG
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- HOU Moneyline: -200
- ILL Moneyline: +170
- Spread: HOU -4.5
- Over/Under: 133.5
- ATS Record: ILL 13-19, HOU 23-12
- Over/Under Record: ILL 18-13-1, HOU 14-19-2
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- The Cougars may be a 5-seed, but don’t be surprised if this team makes a run at the title. Yes, it didn’t get much help with their draw, and, yes, they are without two of their best point guards, but they’ve played through that all season and come into the tournament as KenPom’s 5th-ranked team.
- Their guards lifted them in round one as well, with Kyler Edwards going for 25 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. The Cougars as a team also shot 47.6% from three against UAB.
- However, the Illini as a whole are also top-30 in college basketball in both defensive and offensive efficiency, which will make this a tough matchup for the Cougars.
- The Illini survived a scare against Chattanooga after the Mocs missed two buzzer-beaters. The Illini will have to play much better in round two, as they shot just 17.6% from three and 38.8% overall.
- The Cougars play a molasses-slow pace, ranking 338th in the country, and has the 11th-ranked defense in the country. The Illini can shoot themselves in the foot, averaging 12.2 turnovers a game, so if Houston can slow the game down and force the favorites into making mistakes, this could be an uncomfortable game until the final buzzer.
- If that’s the case, both teams are poor from the free-throw line, but the Illini are a little better, ranking 205th (70.8%) as opposed to the Cougars team, which ranks 320th in the country at 66.9%, and shot 53.3% in round one.
