Illinois Fighting Illini square off against the Houston Cougars in second round
Houston Cougars (30-6, 15-3 AAC) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (23-9, 15-5 Big Ten)
Pittsburgh; Sunday, 12:10 p.m. EDT
LINE: Illinois -4.5; over/under is 133.5
BOTTOM LINE: The No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini face the No. 15 Houston Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Fighting Illini are 15-5 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois has a 4-3 record in one-possession games.
The Cougars' record in AAC play is 15-3. Houston is fifth in college basketball with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Josh Carlton averaging 3.3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kofi Cockburn is averaging 21 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Alfonso Plummer is averaging 9.2 points over the last 10 games for Illinois.
Kyler Edwards averages 2.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Cougars, scoring 13.9 points while shooting 33.6% from beyond the arc. Fabian White Jr. is averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 63.3 points, 35.8 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 38.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.5 points per game.
Cougars: 9-1, averaging 78.6 points, 34.6 rebounds, 20.3 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.7 points.
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