Illinois and Houston play in second round of NCAA Tournament

Houston Cougars (30-6, 15-3 AAC) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (23-9, 15-5 Big Ten)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 12:10 p.m. EDT

LINE: Illinois -4.5; over/under is 133.5

BOTTOM LINE: The No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini play the No. 15 Houston Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Illini are 15-5 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois is 4-3 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Cougars are 15-3 in AAC play. Houston is 26-2 in games decided by 10 or more points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alfonso Plummer is shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc with 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, while averaging 14.8 points. Kofi Cockburn is averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last 10 games for Illinois.

Josh Carlton is averaging 12 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Cougars. Kyler Edwards is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Houston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 63.3 points, 35.8 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 38.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.5 points per game.

Cougars: 9-1, averaging 78.6 points, 34.6 rebounds, 20.3 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by