Idaho Vandals (21-14, 13-9 Big Sky) vs. Houston Cougars (28-6, 16-5 Big 12)
Oklahoma City; Thursday, 10:10 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -23.5; over/under is 136.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 Houston squares off against Idaho in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars are 16-5 against Big 12 opponents and 12-1 in non-conference play. Houston is 27-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 7.9 turnovers per game.
The Vandals’ record in Big Sky games is 13-9. Idaho is 5-2 in one-possession games.
Houston averages 77.1 points per game, 4.5 more points than the 72.6 Idaho gives up. Idaho averages 10.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 more made shots on average than the 6.9 per game Houston allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kingston Flemings is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Cougars. Emanuel Sharp is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Jackson Rasmussen is averaging 13.8 points for the Vandals. Isaiah Brickner is averaging 14.5 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 6-4, averaging 74.4 points, 32.5 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points per game.
Vandals: 8-2, averaging 78.6 points, 34.6 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.4 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.