March Madness Odds: Houston vs Arizona Sweet 16 prediction, odds, pick

The Houston Cougars are set to face the Arizona Wildcats. Check out our March Madness odds series, which includes our Houston Arizona prediction, odds, and pick.

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The Arizona Wildcats were in huge trouble in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, their March Madness odds very nearly shattered by the TCU Horned Frogs. Arizona was on the verge of being the second No. 1 seed to exit the Big Dance, trailing TCU by three points in the final 20 seconds. A great season was in danger of ending prematurely.

Then came Bennedict Mathurin, who rescued his team and gave it a chance to compete for a Final Four.

Mathurin hit a game-tying 3-point shot with 12.6 seconds left, enabling Arizona to get to overtime. He then scored two putback baskets in the extra period to carry Arizona past TCU and into the Sweet 16. Arizona was outfought for much of the game on the glass. TCU was able to collect a large number of offensive rebounds which turned into second-chance points. It took Mathurin's best game, plus a solid supporting effort from Christian Koloko, to prevent Arizona from suffering another March stunner. When thinking about your Houston Arizona prediction, remember that Arizona hasn't been to the Final Four since 2001. Interestingly enough, Arizona went to the Sweet 16 in San Antonio that year and beat Illinois in the Elite Eight to make the Final Four. The Wildcats eventually lost to Coach K and Duke in the national championship game.

Arizona did struggle to rebound the ball against TCU. Guess what Houston does really well? The Cougars crash the glass and make it a priority to win 50-50 balls and as many rebounds as they can get. This has consistently been a strength of Kelvin Sampson-coached teams. It will be a centerpiece aspect of this game: Can Arizona keep Houston off the glass, and can Arizona make enough shots that rebounding becomes diminished as a factor? Houston plays very rugged and tough halfcourt defense, so it's likely that Arizona will have to rebound at a reasonable rate of effectiveness in order to win this game. This is part of the calculus in a Houston Arizona pick. The Cougars, despite lacking Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark for much of the season, have made their way back to the Sweet 16 after reaching the Final Four last year. Houston was very impressive in wins over UAB and Illinois this past weekend in Pittsburgh. Now Houston gets to play in San Antonio. The Cougars have to like where they are — in the bracket, and in their regional placement.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Houston-Arizona odds: