The Houston-Idaho first-round NCAA Tournament matchup is up at DraftKings Sportsbook.
The second seed, Houston, enters as a 23.5-point favorite, while the 15th seed, Idaho, sits as a +3000 underdog. The game total is set at 135.5 points.
Houston vs. Idaho opening odds
Through the first few months of the season, the Cougars hardly ever hit a speed bump. Their 23-2 start through Valentine’s Day featured a three-point, neutral-site loss to Tennessee and a four-point road loss at Texas Tech — both top-six seeds. But Houston followed it up with three straight losses against Iowa State, Arizona, and Kansas, neutralizing their hopes of a No. 1 seed.
Kelvin Sampson’s squad has once again leaned on its defense, limiting opponents to the second-fewest points per game in the country. Still, guards Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp combined for an average of 31.7 points per contest. Flemings is the primary facilitator with 5.3 assists per game, followed closely by Milos Uzan and his four assists per night. Chris Cenac Jr. commands the paint with 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while Joseph Tugler averages 1.5 blocks per game.
Idaho finished the regular season at 17-14, which was only good for seventh in the Big Sky. They barely snuck by Montana State in the conference quarterfinals, then rose to the occasion against both Eastern Washington and Montana to earn the automatic bid to March Madness — their first since 1990.
The Vandals have four players who can step up and catalyze the offense between Jackson Rasmussen (13.9 points per game), Kolton Mitchell (13.7), Biko Johnson (12.7), and Isaiah Brickner (12.2). Six-foot-11 senior Brody Rowbury leads the team with 5.2 boards per night. The Vandals rank in the top 100 nationally in three-point percentage, while limiting opponent offensive rebounds better than all but seven other programs.
The Cougars rank 14th in offense and fifth in defense on KenPom, while the Vandals sit 176th on offense and 136th on defense. Houston ranks 352nd in tempo compared to Idaho at 156th.
