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Upset alert: Rutgers holds halftime lead over Houston with Sweet 16 bid on the line
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Rutgers is more than holding its own vs. Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights went back-and-forth with No. 2-seeded Houston for most of the first half, eventually taking a 30-27 lead into the break.
Rutgers went shot-for-shot with the Cougars, and used a sizable free throw disparity to secure the first-half lead.
Rutgers got big production from its bench in the first half. Montez Mathis scored a game-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Overall, the Scarlet Knights’ bench out-scored Houston’s bench 16-5.
This would be yet another massive upset in the NCAA Tournament, and would help make up for a lackluster day so far in the Big Ten. Both Illinois and Wisconsin have already suffered losses on Sunday.
Rutgers is one of four Big Ten teams still alive in the Big Dance, with Michigan, Iowa and Maryland being the others. The Terps are big underdogs in their matchup with Alabama on Monday.
Rutgers has not reached the Sweet 16 since 1979.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.