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March Madness 2019: Buy or Sell Texas Tech, LSU, Purdue and Houston?

By TJ Miller

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Houston Cougars
CINCINNATI, OH – MARCH 10: Corey Davis Jr. #5 of the Houston Cougars reacts during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on March 10, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

BUY: Houston (East)

Cougar fans may never stop wondering what could have been if Jordan Poole had missed his 35-foot plus heave last March. It was a cruel ending for a team that would’ve had a clear path to the Final Four. This year Houston is on the bottom side of a region once again with hopes of a different outcome.

Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks have led Houston to an impressive 31-3 mark including a 7-3 record against teams in the NCAA Tournament field. The two combine to average over 30 points a game and help spearhead one of the better defenses in the nation. After Davis Jr. and Brooks, six guys average between 5 and 8 points per game as the Cougars spread it around quite well.

Despite all of that, somehow Calvin Sampson and his squad have managed to go through the season relatively under the radar. One less defeat and Houston may have been looking at a 2 seed or even a 1. Even so, I like Houston’s chances to advance fairly deep into the Tournament.

Sure, Georgia State is a scary mid-major, but as long as the Cougars can get through this game I like them over Iowa State or Ohio State. I think Kentucky would serve as a pretty tough Sweet Sixteen opponent although Houston showed it could beat LSU earlier in the season so why not UK?

The consistency has been there so far for Houston and it’s certainly a nice trait to have come March. They shoot a fair amount of threes, but they also make it a decent rate and crash the offensive glass with vigor. If there’s a criticism of Houston it might be the fact they’ve only played seven games decided by two possessions or less. The counter would be Houston has come out of the gate strong in most games, and when they haven’t they’ve roared back with authority to gain sizable leads.

dark. Next. Buy or Sell: 7 Seeds

The only thing certain is that nothing is out of the realm of possibility. And with each of the 3 seeds, nothing that ends up happening would truly shock me. As for Houston, Calvin Sampson has the team to make a deep run. Only time will tell if it happens.

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