Tournament MVP Houston Guard Quentin Grimes (24) holds the championship title and celebrates with his teammates after the team beats Cincinnati, an NCAA college basketball game, in the finals of the American Athletic Conference men’s tournament on Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Fort Worth. Texas. (AP Photo / Ron Jenkins)
- Houston is a 20 point favorite versus Cleveland State in a first round game of the NCAA Midwest Region tournament at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN Friday night
- Houston has won seven games and won nine of its last ten games
- The odds, lines and spreads and the best bet for Cleveland State-Houston can be found below
# 2 Seed Houston will be on the alert when it plays # 15 Cleveland State in a round one game of the NCAA Midwest Region NCAA tournament on Friday at 7:15 p.m. ET at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN.
Houston (24-3) rolls in with seven straight wins and nine wins in their last 10 games again a big favorite. Although Cleveland State (19-7) was in the NCAAs for the first time since 2009, he has a history of upset in the event.
The Vikings, who won four games, defeated the number 4 Wake Forest in the first round in 2009. In 1986 they reached the regional semi-finals despite being number 14.
Cleveland State v Houston odds
| team | Moneyline | Spread | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State | +1300 | +20 (-110) | Above 134.5 (-110) |
| Houston | -3000 | -20 (-110) | Below 134.5 (-110) |
Odds of winning from March 19th onwards FanDuel
Momentum on Houston’s side
Houston had a 91-54 drubbing against Cincinnati as a 13.5-point favorite in the championship game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday. The Cougars led the entire route, making 56.1% (37 out of 66) of their field goal attempts.
Junior Guard Quentin Grimes scored 21 points and made five three-point points for Houston. It was called the tournament MVP. Grimes has scored at least 20 points in five of his last seven games and eleven times this season.
Grimes averaged 18 points and six rebounds per game.
Second guard Marcus Sasser added 16 points, including 14 in the first half when Houston took a 41:27 lead during the break. He increased his season average to 13.0.
Senior guard DeJon Jarreau finished with 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Two days earlier, Jarreau had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 77-52 win over Tulane in a quarterfinal match.
Jarreau fills the statistics sheet with averages of 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He has also hit double digits in nine of the last 10 games, after having done so only four times in the first 16 games.
This story of Kelvin Sampson and the maturation of DeJon Jarreau is what college basketball is all about. pic.twitter.com/ahN0y7DJUa
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 7, 2021
Houston also gets 8.6 points and nine rebounds per game from senior striker Justin Gorham.
According to KenPom.com, the Cougars rank eighth nationwide for adjusted offensive efficiency (119.0 points per 100 possessions) and 15th for adjusted defensive efficiency (90.1).
Vikings double the fun
Two players had doubles doubles and a third was missing when Cleveland State defeated Oakland on March 9 in the championship game of the Horizon League tournament as a 2.5-point pick against Oakland 80-69. The title came after five consecutive seasons with 20 defeats.
Ticket ➡️ punched#GoVikes x #REACHtheHORIZON pic.twitter.com/MMs8P4HGkm
– CSU basketball (@CSU_MBasketball) March 10, 2021
Senior wing Torrey Patton finished 23 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. He has seven in the season while averaging 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Junior Guard Tre Gomillion scored 16 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, both in the Horizon League tournament. He has averages of 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Junior guard D’Moi Hodge fell two rebounds behind his own double-double as he scored 15 points – his third highest total of the season – and blocked three shots. Hodges average of 10.5 is supported by a 46-point breakout against Purdue-Fort Wayne on December 20th.
#JucoProduct D’moi Hodge scored 46 points in 10-15 shots from 3PT, which led the CSU to a victory over Purdue-FW. The 6’4 certified flamethrower was arguably the most entertaining player in the country last season @SCF_Basketball.
46 PTS | 7 RBS | 4 STL | 15-23 FG
🏁 @Dmoi_VI pic.twitter.com/wVKV0g5UrO
– LeagueHim (@League_Him) December 21, 2020
Senior Guard Craig Beaudion added 11 points and five assists.
Cleveland State had an eventful journey through the Horizon League tournament. The Vikings defeated Purdue-Fort Wayne 108-104 in triple overtime in the quarterfinals and then rallied from 11 points in the second half to defeat Milwaukee 71-65 in the semifinals.
Not upset this time
Cleveland State has made a nice turnaround with its program and has history of upset on its side.
However, Houston has played just as well as the country’s team lately. In this case, don’t look for the Cougars who will take their foot off the gas as they advance into the second lap to face either Clemson # 7 or Rutgers # 10.
John Perrotto
Sports journalist
John Perrotto has been reporting and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has been published in USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and others, among others. John is based in Beaver Falls, PA.
John Perrotto has been reporting and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has been published in USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and others, among others. John is based in Beaver Falls, PA.
