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03/19 03:43 CDT Houston Cougars take on Idaho Vandals in first round of NCAA Tournament Houston Cougars take on 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 138.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 Houston takes on 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 second in college basketball giving up 62.9 points per game while holding opponents to 40.0% shooting. The Vandals are 13-9 against Big Sky teams. Idaho is eighth in the Big Sky with 12.5 assists per game led by Kolton Mitchell averaging 3.7. Houston averages 77.1 points per game, 4.5 more points than the 72.6 Idaho allows. Idaho has shot at a 44.8% clip from the field this season, 4.8 percentage points above the 40.0% shooting opponents of Houston have averaged. TOP PERFORMERS: Kingston Flemings is scoring 16.4 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Cougars. Emanuel Sharp is averaging 13.0 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 31.6% over the last 10 games. Jackson Rasmussen is scoring 13.8 points per game and averaging 4.7 rebounds for the Vandals. Isaiah Brickner is averaging 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds 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.

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