Houston, Illinois carry strong opening-weekend efficiency in March Madness into Sweet 16 collision

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson wanted his Cougars simply to stick to what they do best in defending with their typical toughness to open March Madness. Illinois coach Brad Underwood hoped his team would “just let it rip.”

They got what they wanted in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament while posting the two most lopsided scoring margins of any teams to advance to the Sweet 16. Now they will try those very different approaches against one another in a Thursday clash in Houston.

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The second-seeded Cougars — who played in last year’s national-title game — rolled to 31-point wins against both Idaho and Texas A&M. That came while allowing just 0.839 points per possession (104 points on 124 possessions).

“Everybody’s got a style,” coach Kelvin Sampson said after the 88-57 win against the Aggies. “We have a style. Texas A&M has a style, but it doesn’t come down to what you are doing vs. them. It’s how you do what you do.”

Houston allowed the Vandals and Aggies to score on just 37.1% of their possessions, with those teams shooting a combined 31.5% while making 12 of 54 3-pointers (22.2%).

The third-seeded Illini had the second-largest scoring margin (plus-56) of the first weekend while averaging 1.382 points per possession (181 points on 131 possessions). Illinois scored on 60.3% of its possessions against Penn and VCU.

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“We’re 34 or 35 games in, whatever we’re in, and there’s not a lot we don’t know,” Underwood said. “I’m really glad to see us — I used the term before the tournament — ‘just let it rip.’ We’ve got to play that way, and we’ve got to play loose and we’ve got to play free.”

Things figure to be tighter against the stingy Cougars and which team is the most successful doing what it does best will likely advance. Houston is a 3.5-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Shooting the 3

Purdue is shooting the 3-pointer better than anyone heading to the regional round so far, while Alabama continues firing from long range at a frenetic pace under Nate Oats.

The Boilermakers made 22 of 38 3-pointers in wins against Queens and Miami, good for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/houston-illinois-carry-strong-opening-204518673.html

Author : AARON BEARD

Publish date : 2026-03-23 20:45:00

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