Houston Cougars play the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars in first round of NCAA Tournament

SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (22-11, 15-7 OVC) vs. Houston Cougars (30-4, 22-1 Big 12)

Wichita, Kansas; Thursday, 2 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -28.5; over/under is 126.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Houston plays SIU-Edwardsville in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Houston Cougars have gone 22-1 against Big 12 opponents, with an 8-3 record in non-conference play. Houston is third in the Big 12 with 10.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Joseph Tugler averaging 2.5.

The SIU-Edwardsville Cougars’ record in OVC games is 15-7. SIU-Edwardsville is the best team in the OVC allowing just 66.1 points per game while holding opponents to 40.2% shooting.

Houston’s average of 8.1 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 7.3 per game SIU-Edwardsville allows. SIU-Edwardsville averages 7.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.7 more makes per game than Houston allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Milos Uzan is averaging 11.5 points and 4.2 assists for the Houston Cougars. LJ Cryer is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

Ray’Sean Taylor is scoring 19.3 points per game and averaging 4.5 rebounds for the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. Ring Malith is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Houston Cougars: 10-0, averaging 70.5 points, 30.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.3 points per game.

SIU-Edwardsville Cougars: 7-3, averaging 72.5 points, 34.9 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.