Overview
Sports betting guides show that Houston and Arizona aren’t really well acquainted with each other. The two programs have only met five times in their respective histories leading up to their matchup in the Sweet 16 Thursday in San Antonio.
While the Wildcats lead the all-time series 4-1, betting on March Madness seldom is helped by history of what happened in the past. Arizona needed a ferocious surge at the end of the game before winning an overtime battle with TCU in the second round.
The Cougars, meanwhile, looked comfortable in a victory over Illinois. Houston controlled the pace of the game and pulled away in the second half for a comfortable win.
The Cougars are hoping to spring an upset and keep their season headed toward another Final Four appearance. Arizona is looking to knock Houston down a peg and continue its remarkable assent under first-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Last games records
Houston beat Illinois 68-53 on March 20. The Cougars are 31-5. Arizona beat TCU 85-80 on March 20. The Wildcats are 33-3 this season.
Matchup Information
Houston at Arizona Betting Analysis
Houston Betting Analysis
Cougars has had a comfortable run through the NCAA tournament thus far. The Cougars have won their first two games of the tournament by a combined 29 points and limited Illinois to 53 points in the second round. There should be no surprise the Cougars’ defense has played so well, as Houston is seventh nationally in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 58.9 points per game.
Houston is the top defense in the country in field goal percentage defense, limiting its opponents to 37.2 percent shooting from the field. Against the Illini, the Cougars turned in a workmanlike performance on offense.
Houston didn’t shoot well from the perimeter, making 27.3 percent of its 3-pointers, but were effective overall from the field. The Cougars shot 42.4 percent from the field and had three players finish in double figures scoring.
Kyler Edwards leads Houston in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game. Fabian White Jr. (13.0 points per game), Josh Carlton (11.8), and Taze Moore (10.5) all average in double figures scoring for the Cougars.
Arizona Betting Analysis
Arizona might want to start getting the materials to build a statue of Mathurin Bennedict now. Bennedict, who leads the team by averaging 17.8 points per game, made a 3-pointer from well-outside the 3-point line to force overtime against TCU in the second round. His 30 points were a game-high and needed to help the Wildcats survive the overtime game.
While Arizona’s offense still put up a ton of points against the Horned Frogs, the Wildcats struggled from the perimeter. The Wildcats only made five of their 27 attempts.
On the season, Arizona has been a streak 3-point shooting team. The Wildcats make 34.9 percent of their attempts, which ranks 121st nationally. Arizona’s shooting overall has been fantastic.
The Wildcats knock down 49.5 percent of their shots, which ranks fifth nationally. Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko also score in double figures for Arizona, averaging 14.2 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.
Updates
Neither team has any recent injuries of note.
- Houston is 24-12 against the spread.
- Arizona is 18-16-1 against the spread.
- The over has a record of 15-19-2 against the total in the Cougars’ games.
- The over has a record of 17-18 against the total in the Wildcats’ games.
- Houston is 15-14 against the spread following a win.
- Arizona is 19-13 against the spread following a win.
Houston at Arizona Betting Preview
March Madness betting odds have Arizona as -1.5 favorites against Houston. Anyone looking to make March Madness bets can also bet on the over/under, which is set at 145.5 points.
Houston at Arizona Betting Prediction
Houston is an experienced veteran group that is unphased by playing deep into the tournament. The Cougars are also comfortable in their own skin and don’t mind playing a patient, slow-tempo game. Arizona has struggled on defense and showed against TCU that it may have issues with rebounding.
But the question for the Cougars is can they win this kind of game if Arizona turns it into a shootout? Houston won’t be able to focus on one player on the Wildcats’ offense like it did when the Cougars shut down Illinois forward Kofi Cockburn in the last round.
This game will be tight throughout, but ultimately the Wildcats’ star power on offense will propel Arizona on to the Elite 8.
Bet Arizona -1.5
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