Cougars Favored to Advance to Elite Eight Against Orange

The second-seeded Houston Cougars (26-3) will try again to make the Elite Eight for the first time since 1984 when they take on the No. 11 Syracuse Orange (18-9) as solid favorites in the Sweet 16 of the Midwest Region on Saturday. Two years ago, the third-seeded Cougars fell to the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats 62-58 in the Sweet 16 as 2-point underdogs while the Orange last made it to the Elite Eight as a No. 10 in 2016.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

There has not been a lot of early line movement on this one, with bettors slightly siding with Houston in making the American Athletic Conference champions a 6.5-point favorite. The total has also dropped just a tad down to 140.

The key for Syracuse at this point of the NCAA Tournament has usually been slowing the game down with its vaunted 2-3 zone defense and making opponents miss three-pointers with regularity. That has traditionally led to lower-scoring games for the Orange in this round, so if you like the UNDER, you probably should not wait to bet it.

Syracuse News & Notes

Syracuse has covered the spread in six straight games behind the heroics of Buddy Boeheim, who has averaged 26 points per game during that stretch. Boeheim has also made an average of more than five three-pointers in those games, with his worst performance (17 points and 2-for-10 from beyond the arc) coming in a 64-54 win over the Clemson Tigers on March 3.

Alan Griffin stepped up against the Tigers, though, with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and he could be the difference in this matchup with the Cougars. A transfer from the Illinois Fighting Illini, Griffin has to be pumped to be playing in the Sweet 16 while his former school was sent home in the second round as the top seed in the Midwest. If Griffin can come up big here to help out Boeheim, the Orange could win again.

Houston News & Notes

Houston got a huge scare in the last round, needing a late rally to defeat the 10th-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights 63-60 on Sunday. Rutgers led at halftime like Syracuse did vs the third-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in their eventual 75-72 victory earlier in the day.

The difference obviously is that the Scarlet Knights could not seal the deal despite covering the spread as 7.5-point underdogs. The Cougars came up clutch down the stretch, coming back from a 58-49 deficit in the final five minutes to stun their opponent.

That experience should help Houston in this spot against Syracuse, especially if the team starts out shooting cold from long range. The Cougars have a battle-tested head coach in Kelvin Sampson who can match wits with Jim Boeheim as well.

Betting Pick: UNDER 140