Houston, Illinois carry strong opening-weekend efficiency in March Madness into Sweet 16 collision
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson wanted his Cougars simply to stick to what they do best in defending with their typical toughness to open March Madness . Illinois coach Brad Underwood hoped his team would “just let it rip. " They got what they wanted in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament while posting the two most lopsided scoring margins of any teams to advance to the Sweet 16.
Now they will try those very different approaches against one another in a Thursday clash in Houston. The second-seeded Cougars — who played in last year's national-title game — rolled to 31-point wins against both Idaho and Texas A&M . That came while allowing just 0.
839 points per possession (104 points on 124 possessions). “Everybody’s got a style,” coach Kelvin Sampson said after the 88-57 win against the Aggies. “We have a style.
Texas A&M has a style, but it doesn’t come down to what you are doing vs. them. It’s how you do what you do.
” Houston allowed the Vandals and Aggies to score on just 37. 1% of their possessions, with those teams shooting a combined 31. 5% while making 12 of 54 3-pointers (22.