No. 11 Syracuse managed to knock off No. 3 West Virginia on Monday and will face No. 2 Houston in the Sweet 16. The Cougars barely managed to hold off No. 10 Rutgers in the round of 32 and now have to face off against one of the hottest shooting teams in college basketball.
Game date: Saturday, March 27
Game time: 9:55 p.m. ET
TV channel: TBS
Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse
March Madness Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Point spread: Houston -6.5
Total: 140.5
Moneyline: Houston -265, Syracuse +215
No. 11 Syracuse 17-9 (9-7 ACC)
KenPom rating: 42nd Overall, 15th Offense, 94th Defense
NET ranking: 40, (2-7 vs Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Buddy Boeheim (17.7 ppg)
Buddy Boeheim kept his hot shooting going in the round of 32 by dropping a game-high 25 against West Virginia. The Orange have been unconscious shooting the basketball so far. They’ve converted over 50% of their field goals in both the games they’ve played so far while also converting 50% of their threes. They’ll have to be much better in the post against Houston, though.
No. 2 Houston 25-3 (14-3 AAC)
KenPom rating: 5th Overall, 6th Offense, 12th Defense
NET ranking: 5 (2-1 vs. Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Quentin Grimes (18 ppg)
Houston got into a dogfight against Rutgers and managed to squeak by with a 63-60 victory thanks to a game-high 22 points from Quentin Grimes. He was trailed by Dejon Jarreau, who rattled home 17 points. One thing that was surprising about the Cougars' last game is that they lost the rebounding battle despite being one of the country's best teams at crashing the boards. Controlling the post should be a point of emphasis in the Sweet 16.