The No. 2 seed Houston Cougars (24-3) are heavily favored (-20) to defeat the No. 15 seed Cleveland State Vikings (19-7) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Assembly Hall (Indiana). The contest tips off at 7:15 PM ET on TRU. Here are some insights into this Midwest Region contest for those filling out their brackets.
In their last game, the Cougars picked up a 91-54 win over Cincinnati and covered the 13.5-point spread they were favored by . The teams hit the over on the 135 point total set by oddsmakers. Quentin Grimes racked up a team-high 21 points in the victory on Sunday.
Torrey Patton led the way for the Vikings with a team-high 23 points last time out as they picked up a 80-69 win over Oakland and covered the 2.5-point spread as favorites. The teams combined to hit the over on the 141.5 point total set for the matchup.
Rankings courtesy of Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Cleveland State at Houston: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list.
Lines last updated at 2:25 PM ET on March 15, 2021.
- Money line: Cleveland State +1400 (bet $100 to win $1400) | Houston -3000 (bet $3000 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Cleveland State +20 (-110) | Houston -20 (-110)
- Over/Under: 134.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Houston: Three things to know
- The Cougars scoring leader is Grimes, who averages 18.0 points per game. Grimes is the top three-point shooter for the team, connecting on 3.3 per game.
- The Cougars average 77.6 points per game, seven more points than the 70.6 the Vikings give up.
- When Houston totals more than 70.6 points, it is 17-1 overall and 14-0 against the spread.
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Cleveland State: Three things to know
- Patton leads the Vikings in scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game). D’Moi Hodge paces the squad with a team-high 1.5 made three-pointers per game.
- The Vikings’ 71.5 points per game are 13.6 more points than the 57.9 the Cougars allow to opponents.
- When it scores more than 57.9 points, Cleveland State is 18-0 against the spread and 19-5 overall.
Cleveland State at Houston: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Houston 80, Cleveland State 59
Money line
The Houston Cougars are favored to win this matchup according to both BetMGM’s money line and the model.
Against the spread (ATS)
The MGM line for this game has the Cougars favored by 20, while the model predicts they’ll win by slightly more (20.7 points).
Over/Under (O/U)
The model predicts a total 3.8 points higher than the one set by MGM for this game.
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