Houston Cougars vs Miami Florida Hurricanes Prediction: High-ranking Houston takes on hopeful Miami

Isn’t it wonderful how the NCAA March Madness tournament has so many fairy tales that the AP Poll is turned to dust? High-ranked Purdue and Kansas have been already been done away with and as we hit the Sweet Sixteen, who knows what more surprises are there? Will the Miami Hurricanes turn the tide as they take on Houston Cougars?

The Cougars enter the battlefield after defeating the Auburn Tigers 81:64 as Tramon Mark piled up 26 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Sasser collected 22 points, hitting five remarkable triples. Houston did a great job of getting to the line, putting up 24 free-throws in 29 attempts. Jamal Shead led the way in terms of playmaking, who dished five assists whereas Jarace Walker led the rebounding effort with 10 of them. The Cougars stacked up 45 rebounds compared to 34 by the Tigers, getting a hold on an incredible 17 rebounds. The Cougars just blocked everything and had a mind-boggling 12 blocks, six of them by Walker and five by Jwan Roberts. They held Auburn to 37.7% which is in line with Cougars’ gritty defense.

NBA Watch: Forward Jarace Walker is number 17 in the NBA 2023 Mock Draft. Marcus Sasser is number 36 in this Mock Draft.

The Hurricanes enter the fray after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 85:69 on the heels of Isaiah Wong’s performance who came up with 27 points and eight rebounds, nailing four triples. Jordan Miller was highly effective too, scooping up 19 points and five rebounds. Norchad Omier had a phenomenal night too, stacking up 17 rebounds, eight on the offensive end. Thanks to that, the Hurricanes had a huge 48:31 rebounding advantage. Miami made eight more field goals than the Hoosiers on an efficient 49% field goal. Defensively, they held Hoosiers to just around 41%. Miami began with a five-point lead in the first half but took it to another level during the second half as their offense was relentless and the defense too.

NBA Watch: Guard Isaiah Wong is number 50 in the Mock Draft

The Cougars are effective on the defensive end and their frontline makes it tough to score from inside. Thankfully for the Hurricanes, a team that has been effective from long-range. It will be interesting to see how Hurricanes contain Tramon Mark and Marcus Sassers, the one-two punch. I do believe Hurricanes will keep it close but I’d still back the Cougars.