The Miami Hurricanes and the Houston Cougars meet in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup from the T-Mobile Center on Friday night.
Miami Hurricanes Team Recap
The Miami Hurricanes booked their spot in the Sweet 16 following an 85-69 win over Indiana in their last matchup. Isaiah Wond led the way with 27 points on 9 of 17 shooting with 4 threes and 8 rebounds while Jordan Miller had 19 points on 9 of 16 shooting and Nijel Pack had 12 points to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Miami in the winning effort. Norchad Omier added a game-high 17 rebounds to lead the ‘Canes on the glass in the win as well.
Houston Cougars Team Recap
The Houston Cougars made it into the Sweet 16 thanks to an 81-64 win over Auburn in their last matchup. Tramon Mark led the Cougars with 26 points on 9 of 17 shooting with 9 rebounds while Marcus Sasser had 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting with 5 threes. Jamal Shead had 10 points with a team-high 5 assists to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Houston in the win while Jarace Walker had a team-high 10 rebounds and 6 blocks. J’Wan Roberts also had 5 blocks as well in the winning effort.
Trends
Miami is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tournament games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games following an ATS win. Houston is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a win while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games.
Pick
I’m sticking with Miami here. I’m not sure the Hurricanes win outright, but this is a lot of points to be giving up a Hurricanes team that’s been rolling and has faced their fair share of tough defenses this season. Granted, Houston can be a whole different ball of wax and the extended break may be good for the Cougars to get Marcus Sasser healthy, but I still think the ‘Canes have what it takes to keep this one close. Give me Miami and the points here.