Houston vs. Illinois Prediction
The second round of the NCAA Tournament continues on Sunday when 5 seed Houston takes on 4 seed Illinois in the South Region at 12:10 p.m. ET. Are the Cougars overvalued as a 4.5-point favorite or will Houston take care of business like it did in the first round?
Game Snapshot
825 Houston Cougars (-4.5) vs. 826 Illinois Fighting Illini (+4.5); o/u 133.5
12:10 p.m. ET, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
TV: CBS
March Madness Betting Prediction
The Cougars have covered four straight games – all as the favorite. They’re also 7-1 at the window in their last eight games versus an opponent with a winning record, are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games following an ATS win and have covered in 20 of their last 27 games when listed as chalk at a neutral site. Finally, the Cougars are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven NCAA Tournament games as a favorite and are 35-7 at the betting window in their last 52 games following a win.
The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, are 0-4 against the spread in their last four games overall, are 0-6 against the number in their last six games following a win and are 0-4 at the betting window in their last four games versus a team with a winning percentage above .600. Illinois is also just 3-8 against the spread in its last 11 games coming off an ATS loss and is 1-4 at the window in its last five games versus a team with a winning record.
MARCH MADNESS BETTING PREDICTION: HOUSTON COUGARS -4.5
