Houston vs. Oregon State Projected Odds: Our Spread, Total for NCAA Tournament Elite Eight

#2 Houston vs. #12 Oregon St. Odds

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How Houston & Oregon St. Match Up

What To Know About Houston

There isn’t much that Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars don’t do well. They rank ninth in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom and are sixth overall. There's really no weaknesses on a defense that has so much versatility and takes away everything in the paint. Houston is one of the country’s elite teams while playing at the 320th-ranked adjusted Tempo.

Quentin Grimes is the leading scorer at 17.9 points for a team that is full of players between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-8, including do-everything senior wing DeJon Jarreau, who recorded the first Cougar triple-double since Bo Outlaw in 1993. Jarreau's health is a question mark moving forward in the tournament, but the Cougars are no doubt better with him on the court.

Houston is also extremely well-schooled under Sampson. And like most Sampson teams, they are absolutely fantastic on the offensive glass despite lacking elite size. The Cougars’ size and athleticism will be a problem for any team, and they’re definitely going to be a contender for a Final Four run.

Houston, we have a problem, and it's Houston for the rest of this field. — Matt Trebby

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What To Know About Oregon St.

The Beavers entered the Pac-12 Tournament as a 5-seed, winning three straight to become conference champions despite having some of the longest odds to do so.

Oregon State beat UCLA, Oregon and Colorado to bring their combined Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 record to 7-9. The Beavers shot 29-of-66 from beyond the arc in the Pac-12 Tournament, a stark contrast from 33% in conference play for a rank of 10th in conference.

This is head coach Wayne Tinkle's second trip to the dance with Oregon State since taking over in 2015, having made three other trips with Montana.

Oregon State plays a unique shifting zone, giving opponents multiple looks and potential problems. One area the Beavers struggle is defensive free-throw rate with a national rank of 303rd. The Beavers do defend the perimeter with a defensive 3-point percentage that ranks 58th nationally, but a lack of presence in the paint could be problematic versus opponents that are dominant on the block. Still, this is a team with a decent offensive free-throw rate and has a top-40 free-throw shooting percentage.

The Beavers have been hot offensively during the right time of year, even though it was their defense that led to the win over Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16. — Collin Wilson

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