How to Watch No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston (NCAA Tournament Sweet 16)

Game Time: ~9:05 p.m. CT Thursday

TV Channel: TBS/TruTV

Online Streaming: March Madness Live

Odds: Illinois +2.5 (FanDuel)

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Quick Hits:Illinois Fighting Illini (26-8, 15-5 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season)

Last Game: Illinois 76, VCU 55

Gameday Reading:

Will Illinois win the South Region? Picks, predictions for Sweet 16

Illinois Athletics is in rarified air with NCAA Tourney wins

Houston Cougars (30-6, 14-4 Big 12)

Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson

Last Game: Houston 88, Texas A&M 57

What Happened the Last Time These Two Teams Played?

All-time series is tied 3-3.

March 20, 2022: Houston 68, Illinois 53 (Round of 32)

Luke Goode and RJ Melendez were 2 years old the last time Illinois made it to the Sweet 16.

They won’t be 19 when the Illini make their next.

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On the backs of the freshmen and All-American Kofi Cockburn, the Illini nearly roared back to another ugly NCAA Tournament win to advance to the second weekend for the first time since 2005, but a late run by Houston was enough to propel the Cougars to a 68-53 victory at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.

After a lethargic first 15 minutes of just 11 points, the freshman duo sparked a late run to give the Illini a fighting chance in the second half. Melendez and Goode combined for 11 first-half points off the bench (on a perfect 4-for-4 combined shooting). Neither rookie appeared in Illinois’ 54-53 come-from-behind win over Chattanooga in the Round of 64 on Friday.

But until the pair got going, Illinois’ offense wasn’t doing itself any favors. Six first-half three-point attempts came off the hands of Coleman Hawkins and Andre Curbelo — neither of who shoots better than 29% from behind the arc. Hawkins made one, Curbelo made none, and despite playing big roles against the Mocs, the two sophomores didn’t get much tick after the break.

Worse than all of that, until the freshmen got on the court, if your name wasn’t Kofi Cockburn, you were a non-factor on offense in the first half. Trent Frazier, battling an eye infection, made his first bucket of the tournament and a buzzer-beater before the break, while sniper Alfonso Plummer missed his first six shot attempts.

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Shooting wasn’t the only issue for Brad Underwood’s team. Illinois seemingly couldn’t successfully inbound a pass to get the offense running, and the Cougars — one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation — dominated the boards, even with big man Josh Carlton in foul trouble much of the second half. Illinois finished with 16 turnovers (7 on inbounds passes) and was out-rebounded 39-33.