March Madness
Illinois vs Houston – March Madness Odds, Preview, and Expert Picks
Jon is a current senior at Penn State University, majoring in journalism and minoring in sports studies. Jon was a member of the D1 baseball team before injuring his shoulder. He loves the Milwaukee Bucks and writing about various different sports.
All posts by Jon ConahanUpdated19 Mar 2022
The Illinois Fighting Illini are set to take on the Houston Cougars on Sunday at 12:10 EST. This game will be played at the PPG Paints Arena as Illinois will be coming in as a number four seed and Houston is coming in as a number five seed. Houston finished the season at 30-5; Illinois finished at 23-9. This should be one of the better games of the second round as both have the potential to make a deep run in this tournament.
Illinois vs Houston – Game Information
🏀 Teams: Illinois vs Houston
📊 Record: Illinois(23-9), Houston(30-5)
📅 Date: March 20th, 2022
🕛 Time: 12:10 PM EST
📺 TV Channel: CBS
🏟 Venue: PPG Paints Arena
🎲 Odds: Houston(-4.5), Illinois(+4.5)
Illinois vs Houston Odds
The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Houston Cougars are set to meet on Sunday. This is going to be an interesting game, just like most 4-5 games are.
Below, you can find CBB odds for the game from BetOnline, one of the best CBB betting sites.
| Bet | Houston | Illinois | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | -200 | +170 |  |
| Point Spread | -4.5 (-110) | +4.5(-110) | |
| Total Points | Over 133 (-110) | Under 133 (-110) | |
Illinois vs Houston Injuries
There are currently no new players on either teams’ injury report for Sunday’s game. Neither team should have any late scratches.
Illinois vs Houston Preview
This game will be played in a neutral arena. Both teams are going to look to advance to the sweet-16 round of the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
Illinois The Underdog?
The Illinois Fighting Illini are going to be coming into this one as an underdog according to the books. It’s somewhat questionable why Illinois is the underdog, but Houston has played great basketball the entire year.
Illinois is going to be coming into this one after almost losing to the Chattanooga Mocs on Friday. They were able to sneak away a victory, 54-53. In that game, Kofi Cockburn led the way with 17 points.
Houston Has Been Here Before
The Houston Cougars are going to be coming into this one after having an incredible regular season and a hot start to the March Madness Tournament.
Houston had an impressive win in the first round against the UAB Blazers. They won that game 82-68 as Kyler Edwards led the way with 25 points.
This Houston Cougars team has been in situations like this before, and that experience should prove to be valuable for them in this one.
March Madness Betting Trends — Illinois vs Houston
Let’s check out some of the CBB betting trends for the game below.
Illinois Trends
- 17 games have gone OVER and 15 have gone UNDER this season.
- 13-19 ATS this season.
Houston Trends
- 16 games have gone OVER and 19 have gone UNDER this season.
- 23-12 ATS this season.
Free March Madness Picks — Illinois vs Houston
For this game, I think I’m going to go with Illinois to cover the spread. Although I am a little bit skeptical about this pick due to Illinois not playing great in their last game, I do think that this team is one of those teams that could potentially make a deep run in this tournament if they do play their best basketball.
One thing that does worry me about Illinois is you never really know what type of team you’re going to get when they are out there. If they come out and play the type of way that everybody knows they can, they should not only be able to cover the spread in this one, but win outright.
