Houston vs. Illinois Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - Sweet 16

The No. 2 seed Houston Cougars (30-6) and the No. 3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (26-8) play in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a ticket to the Elite Eight of the South Region bracket on the line on Thursday at Toyota Center, tipping off at 10:05 p.m. ET. Houston is a 2.5-point favorite in the matchup, which airs on TBS. The matchup has an over/under set at 139.5 points.

In its most recent game on Saturday, Houston secured an 88-57 win over Texas A&M. Emanuel Sharp put up 18 points, four rebounds and zero assists for Houston. Illinois' last contest on Saturday ended in a 76-55 win against VCU. Andrej Stojakovic's team-high 21 points paced Illinois in the victory.

Houston vs. Illinois Odds and Game Time

• When: Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 10:05 p.m. ET
• Where: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
• Spread favorite: Houston -2.5
• Moneyline favorite: Houston -165
• Moneyline underdog: Illinois +135
• Over/Under: 139.5 points

How to watch Houston vs. Illinois

• TV Channel: TBS
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Houston vs. Illinois

• Houston and its opponents have combined to outscore Thursday's over/under (139.5 points) 16 times this season.
• This season, 25 of Illinois' games have finished with a combined score higher than 139.5 points.
• Together, the two teams combine for 162.2 points per game, 22.7 points more than the total of 139.5 for this game.
• This matchup's point total is 7.8 fewer points than the 131.7 these two teams combine to allow per game in 2024.
• Houston has seen a 139.7 average over/under in its games this season, 0.2 points more than the over/under in this contest.
• Illinois' games have an average over/under of 154.1 points this season, 14.6 more points than the over/under for this matchup.

Betting the Spread: Houston vs. Illinois

• Houston has played 36 games, with 18 wins against the spread.
• So far this season, the Cougars have been installed as favorites by a 2.5-point margin or more 31 times and are 17-14 ATS in those games.
• Illinois has 20 wins against the spread in 34 games this year.
• The Fighting Illini have been underdogs by 2.5 points or more two times this year and covered the spread once.
• Houston is 9-7 against the spread, and 15-1 overall, at home this year.
• At home, Houston is 9-7 ATS as a 2.5-point favorite or greater.
• In away games, Illinois is 8-2 overall and 6-4 against the spread.
• This year Illinois is 3-3 ATS as 2.5-point underdogs or more on the road.

Betting the Moneyline: Houston vs. Illinois

• Houston has won 26, or 86.7%, of the 30 games it has played as the moneyline favorite this season.
• The Cougars have a record of 25-2 in games where oddsmakers favor them by at least -165 on the moneyline.
• The sportsbooks' moneyline implies a 62.3% chance of a victory for Houston.
• Illinois has been victorious in three of the six contests it has been chosen as a moneyline underdog in this season.
• The Fighting Illini have been listed as an underdog of +135 or more on two occasions this season and split those games.
• Illinois has an implied victory probability of 42.6% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.