Buckeyes vs. Cougars Prediction
The third-seeded Houston Cougars have their sights set on advancing to the Sweet 16 and standing in the way tonight are the 11th-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes. Can Houston take down the underdogs out of the Big Ten Conference?
Game Snapshot
871 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. 872 Houston Cougars
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Bank of Oklahoma Center at 8:40PM ET
TV: TNT
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Cougars are a 6-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 132.5 points. As of Sunday afternoon, 76 percent of public bets are pouring in on Houston. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for up-to-date info.
Buckeyes edge Cyclones
Ohio State upset Iowa State Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to improve to 20-14 on the season. The Buckeyes led 26-24 at halftime and the contest remained close throughout. Ohio State shot 23-of-58 from the field, 5-of-20 from the floor and 11-of-14 at the free throw line. Kaleb Wesson paced the Buckeyes with 21 points, 8-of-15 shooting plus 5-of-6 at the free throw line. He also accounted for 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Keyshawn Woods tallied 19 points, four boards and two assists. Musa Jallow added 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Cougars dominate Panthers
Houston rolled to an 84-55 win Friday against Georgia State to move to 32-3 and advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars led 40-31 and continued to pull away in the second half. Corey Davis Jr. paced Houston with 26 points on 9-of-22 shooting including 7-of-17 from 3-point range plus 1-of-1 at the free throw line. He also registered seven rebounds and six assists. Fabian White Jr. tallied 14 points and 11 boards. Breaon Brady contributed 13 points and eight caroms. Dejon Jarreau recorded 10 points, seven assists and three rebounds off the bench. The Cougars shot 33-of-64 from the field, 8-of-29 from 3-point distance and 10-of-13 at the free throw line.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Ohio State
The Buckeyes are 5-0 ATS in their last five neutral site games. Ohio State is 1-8 ATS in its last nine NCAA Tournament games.
Houston
The Cougars are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games. Houston is 34-16-2 ATS in its last 52 games overall.
Prediction:
I was very surprised that the Buckeyes found a way past Iowa State two days ago after struggling a lot over the last month in Big Ten Conference play. The Buckeyes are healthy now after missing Kaleb Wesson, their leading scorer, during part of that stretch. Wesson looked great in the first round win and Ohio State might be one of those teams that comes out of nowhere to do some damage in the NCAA Tournament. But with all that said, I love this Houston team as it is nasty on defense and strong enough on offense to lead the way to a 32-win season. This is a tough matchup to decide, but ultimately I like what Ohio State did against Iowa State and it surely gained some confidence back from that win. I’m going with the Buckeyes to cover this one, although they still might fall short on the moneyline bet in what should be a close game.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES +6