Top March Madness betting sites favor the Cougars in this Elite Eight matchup even though they are the No. 5 seed in the South Region. Houston needs just one more win to tie the most in school history. They led Arizona wire to wire on their way to a 72-60 win.
Villanova beat the 11th-seeded Michigan Wolverines 63-55. They covered as 4.5-point faves in the other South Region Sweet 16 game to prolong their winning streak to eight games. The three-time national champions had an easier path to get to this point.
The Cougars have moved to 2.5-point favorites at the best online sportsbooks. The total has dropped to 128.5. This is expected to be a low-scoring defensive affair between two methodical teams. The fifth-seeded Houston Cougars have been a most underrated team, but they can reach their second straight Final Four with a win on Saturday over the second-seeded Villanova Wildcats.
2022 Elite 8 Houston U vs Villanova Odds
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston U | -2½ ( -110 ) | 128 ( -110 ) | -143 |  |
| Villanova | +2½ ( -110 ) | 128 ( -110 ) | +123 | |
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Betting Houston Cougars
Houston held Arizona to 33.3% field goal shooting (18-for-54). They limited top scorer Bennedict Mathurin to 15 points on 4-for-14. That includes 2-of-7 shooting from the three-point line. Mathurin was coming off a 30-point outing in his team’s 85-80 OT victory against the ninth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday. The change of pace baffled Arizona. The Cougars had previously held the fourth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini to 53 points on 34% field goal shooting (17-for-50).
Houston must set the pace and force Villanova to take poor shots. The Wildcats can be successful while playing slow, but they cannot afford to shoot under 40% again. Picking up where they left off, the Cougars have allowed just one of their last 11 opponents more than 68 points in a losing effort. They are also 10-1 ATS in those games according to top sports betting sites.
Betting Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats are familiar with low-scoring games. Five of their past six games overall have gone UNDER the total. As well as six of nine in the NCAA Tournament. The question is can Villanova’s shooters do enough damage to pull out another win.
Top scorer Collin Gillespie’s shooting has gotten progressively worse in the past three games. This is a big concern for the Wildcats because the Cougars are big and athletic and can extend that trend to four. Jermaine Samuels and Justin Moore picked up the slack and combined for 37 points on 13-of-26 shooting in the win against Michigan.
Make no mistake; Gillespie is the X factor for Villanova. He has not made more than 50% of his shots in a game since an 89-84 road win against the Providence Friars on February 15. Also he scored a season-best 33 points then. He has been struggling with an ankle injury for over six weeks now. He is the heartbeat of this team.
Houston U vs Villanova Pick
Houston has been great on both ends of the court this season. The Cougars enter this game ranked 55th in scoring offense, 3rd in scoring defense, and 1st in defensive field goal percentage. Villanova’s defense ranks 23rd in scoring defense and 41st in defensive field goal percentage.
The Wildcats rank just 138th in scoring offense, but Villanova has been great from the three-point line. They rank 22nd in three-point shots made per game. Houston has had possibly the best defense in College Basketball this season. The Cougars have looked unbeatable so far in the Tournament. We think Villanova is going to have a hard time putting up points in this one. We’re taking Houston to cover the top sports betting sites’ spread.
