It’s a cougar on cougar matchup to kick off March Madness as the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars and No. 16-seeded SIU Edwardsville cougars go head-to-head on Thursday night. Houston earned a No. 1 seed after a 30-4 season, finishing first in the Big 12. SIUE finished second in the Ohio Valley conference with a 22-11 overall record.

BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Houston plays SIU-Edwardsville in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Houston Cougars have gone 22-1 against Big 12 opponents, with an 8-3 record in non-conference play. Houston is third in the Big 12 with 10.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Joseph Tugler averaging 2.5.

I don’t like to lose. I’m definitely going to be mad about this game when I look back,” said SIUE guard Ray’Sean Taylor.