Houston vs. Duke expert picks: Spread, odds, projections for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game

The Duke Blue Devils are doing their part to show that this wasn’t a down year for the ACC and are one of four teams from the conference to reach the Sweet 16. They are also looking for their first trip to the Elite Eight since long -time head coach Mike Krzyzewski retired. To do that, they will have to get through the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars on Friday night. Houston is a small favorite going into the game.

This fascinating matchup features one of college basketball’s current elites (Houston) and one of the all-time great programs (Duke). It is also a clash in playing styles and strengths.

While Duke enters the game as one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, finishing in the top-25 in offensive rating, 3-point percentage and field goal percentage, Houston is the country’s most dominant defensive team. The Cougars enter the game as the nation’s top team in defensive scoring (allowing just 57.7 points per game) and defensive rating, while also limiting their opponents to a dismal 37.8 percent mark from the field.

As good as Houston has been this season, there is reason to believe that it is not quite playing its best basketball right now. They had a terrible loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game, and after easily dismissing No. 16 seed Longwood in its opening-round tournament game, it needed overtime to outlast No. 8 seed Texas A&M in the round of 32.

Houston has a veteran backcourt led by seniors LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead, but Duke has a significant size advantage going into the game. Houston doesn’t have a single player that can match up physically with 7-footer Kyle Filipowski. If Houston can keep it a low-scoring, defensive game, it will play right into its strengths. But the Cougars offense is not quite on par with what the Blue Devils can do when they really get rolling.

What: South Region, Sweet 16

Tipoff time: 9:39 pm ET Friday

TV: CBS

Location: Dallas