Central Plains FFA Chapter

03/18 03:42 CDT Houston Cougars play the Idaho Vandals in first round of NCAA Tournament Houston Cougars play the Idaho Vandals in first round of NCAA Tournament By The Associated Press 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. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.