Houston vs Cleveland State: March Madness Betting Odds and Picks – March 19, 2021

Written By Staff on March 16, 2021 - Last Updated on June 4, 2021

The No. 2 Houston Cougars (24-3) and the No. 15 Cleveland State Vikings (19-7) will meet on Friday to compete for a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Houston is favored by 20 points in the opening round matchup, which tips off at 7:15 PM ET on truTV. Here are the insights you need when filling out your bracket for this 2-15 matchup.

The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from DraftKings as of March 16, 2021, 12:10 AM ET.

Betting Odds

Favorite Spread Favorite Spread Odds Underdog Spread Odds Total Over Total Odds Under Total Odds
Houston -20 -110 -109 135 -112 -109

Keys to the Game for Houston

  • Houston holds a solid record against the spread this season, going 18-8 ATS.
  • The Cougars are 1-1 as at least 20-point favorites.
  • The Cougars go above the points half of the time, in 13 of 26 games (50%).

Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.

Houston Leaders

  • The Cougars scoring leader is Quentin Grimes, who averages 18.0 per contest to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
  • Houston’s leading rebounder is Justin Gorham averaging 9.0 boards per game and its best passer is DeJon Jarreau and his 4.4 assists per game.
  • Grimes leads his teammates on the Cougars with 3.3 made threes per outing.
  • Jarreau is the Cougars leader in steals, averaging 1.4 steals per game, while Brison Gresham leads them in blocks with 1.5 per contest.

Keys to the Game for Cleveland State

  • Cleveland State has covered the spread in greater than half of its games, going 17-8 ATS.
  • Cleveland State has combined with its opponents to hit the over in 50% of matchups this season (13 out of 26 opportunities).

Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.

Cleveland State Leaders

  • Torrey Patton has the top Vikings spot in two categories: scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game).
  • The Cleveland State leader in assists is Craig Beaudion with 3.3 assists per game.
  • D’Moi Hodge paces the Vikings with a team-high 1.5 made three-pointers per game.
  • Hodge is the steals leader for Cleveland State with 1.6 steals per game and Deante Johnson leads the squad in blocks with 1.1 per game.

Computer Picks

Pick ATS:
Cougars (-20)

Pick OU:
Over (135)

Prediction: Houston 79, Cleveland State 59

Predictions are calculated by a data-driven algorithm (raw power score) that ranks head-to-head matchup results within a closed network of games. Prediction confidence is determined by the delta between each team’s raw power score.

Last 5 Games

Houston Cleveland State
Date Opponent Result Score Date Opponent Result Score
3/14/2021 Cincinnati Win 91-54 3/9/2021 Oakland Win 80-69
3/13/2021 Memphis Win 76-74 3/8/2021 Milwaukee Win 71-65
3/12/2021 Tulane Win 77-52 3/2/2021 Purdue Fort Wayne Win 108-104
3/7/2021 Memphis Win 67-64 2/20/2021 Purdue Fort Wayne Win 67-55
2/28/2021 South Florida Win 98-52 2/19/2021 Purdue Fort Wayne Loss 75-68

Against The Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
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