Houston, Illinois carry strong
opening-weekend efficiency in March Madness into Sweet 16 collision
[March 24, 2026]
By AARON BEARD
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 (22.2%).
The third-seeded Illini had the second-largest scoring margin
(plus-56) of the first weekend while averaging 1.382 points per
possession (181 points on 131 possessions). Illinois scored on 60.3%
of its possessions against Penn and VCU.
“We're 34 or 35 games in, whatever we're in, and there's not a lot
we don't know,” Underwood said. “I'm really glad to see us — I used
the term before the tournament — ‘just let it rip.’ We’ve got to
play that way, and we’ve got to play loose and we’ve got to play
free.”
Things figure to be tighter against the stingy Cougars and which
team is the most successful doing what it does best will likely
advance. Houston is a 3.5-point favorite, according to BetMGM
Sportsbook.
Shooting the 3
Purdue is shooting the 3-pointer better than anyone heading to the
regional round so far, while Alabama continues firing from long
range at a frenetic pace under Nate Oats.
The Boilermakers made 22 of 38 3-pointers in wins against Queens and
Miami, good for 57.9% to lead all tournament teams. They were the
only tournament team to make more than half their attempts while
playing multiple games.
In all, six Sweet 16 teams shot at least 40% from 3-point range in
the tournament's opening weekend, including Michigan (46.8%, 22 of
47) and Michigan State (45.7%, 21 of 46).
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Texas A&M guard Marcus Hill (0) tries to get to a rebound before
Houston guards Kingston Flemings (4) and forward Emanuel Sharp (21)
during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college
basketball tournament Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
(AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, leads all tournament
teams with 31 made 3s through two rounds, at least five more than
any other team. And Alabama's 78 attempted 3s were tied with 12-seed
High Point — which upset Wisconsin before falling in a shootout to
Arkansas — for the most in the tournament, at least eight more than
any other team.
Winning profiles and tiers
Going back to the 2001 tournament, 55 of 96 teams to reach the Final
Four (57.3%) were ranked inside the top 25 in both adjusted
offensive and defensive efficiency for KenPom entering March
Madness, with 21 of those ranking in the top 10 at both ends.
Slightly more than half of the remaining teams (21) ranked inside
the top 10 at one end of the court to offset a ranking outside the
top 25 in the other.
That leaves 20 outliers that reached the sport's final weekend
without holding top-10 status in at least one category.
Looking at the three tiers of the 16 teams that will play this week:
— Six favorites entered the tournament with top-25 rankings at both
ends of the floor: 1-seeds Duke, Arizona and Michigan; and 2-seeds
Houston, Iowa State and Michigan State. Of that group, the Blue
Devils and Wildcats were top-5 in both categories.
— Five teams ranked in the top 10 at one end of the court: 2-seed
Purdue; 3-seed Illinois; and 4-seeds Alabama, Arkansas and Nebraska.
The Huskers were the only one of that quintet to rank in the top 10
defensively.
— The five outliers: 2-seed UConn, 5-seed St. John's, 6-seed
Tennessee; 9-seed Iowa and 11-seed Texas. The Huskies are the
surprise addition in this group after flirting with earning a No. 1
seed coming down the stretch, but they entered March Madness ranked
30th in offense (122.0 points per 100 possessions) and 11th in
defense (94.1).
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