No. 5 Gonzaga played a good first 30 minutes against the Boilermakers, but Purdue hit the Bulldogs with a haymaker of a run late in the second half and pulled away, eventually defeating Gonzaga 80-68.
No. 3 Creighton made things interesting late in the game, but the Vols held on to advance to their second Elite Eight by a score of 82-75.
The Boilermakers have looked dominant during their March Madness run, but each round will get more difficult from here, and Tennessee poses a challenge that Purdue has not yet faced in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee has never made the Final Four, and Purdue’s last trip to the National Semifinals came all the way back in 1980. Needless to say, everything is on the line come Sunday.
No. 5 Gonzaga played a good first 30 minutes against the Boilermakers, but Purdue hit the Bulldogs with a haymaker of a run late in the second half and pulled away, eventually defeating Gonzaga 80-68.
No. 3 Creighton made things interesting late in the game, but the Vols held on to advance to their second Elite Eight by a score of 82-75.
The Boilermakers have looked dominant during their March Madness run, but each round will get more difficult from here, and Tennessee poses a challenge that Purdue has not yet faced in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee has never made the Final Four, and Purdue’s last trip to the National Semifinals came all the way back in 1980. Needless to say, everything is on the line come Sunday.
Beat the Sportsbook: Here is Friday’s best Sweet 16 underdog bet for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
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We are now into Week 2 of the NCAA Tournament. While some favorites were knocked out, it has mostly been a bracket playing to chalk through the first 2 rounds. We’ll likely still get a surprise or two as we make our way toward the Final Four. Below, we break down FanDuel Sportsbook’sNCAA Tournament odds and lines and list Friday’s best Sweet 16 underdog bet to cash in on among SportbookWire’s expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Prior to Thursday’s action, a quarter of the Sweet 16 come from seeds 5-or-higher. Two of the 16 (Clemson, NC State) are from outside the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Four are — or were — tabbed as underdogs of 5½ points or more.
Gonzaga +5.5 (-110) vs. Purdue – 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS/truTV)
This game is Friday’s 1st Midwest Region semifinal at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and it features the No. 1 seed Boilermakers against the No. 5 Bulldogs.
Prior to the Tournament much was made of Purdue’s past upset losses in the Big Dance — each when favored by a double-digit margin — each of the last 2 years. But Purdue has ridden the sensational play of C Zach Edey to easy wins this Tournament over No. 16 Grambling and No. 8 Utah State. The Boilermaker behemoth averaged 26.5 points and 17.5 rebounds on 67.9% shooting in the 2 wins.
Gonzaga has had its offense in really high gear since about mid-January. The Bulldogs are 16-2 and averaging 85.7 points per game since Jan. 18. During that stretch, they have shot 54% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range. It’s the Zags’ ability to knock down contested inside buckets and not have to rely on 3’s that looms large in this matchup against this Purdue five that is not as dominant in defending the interior as one might assume.
Overall, Purdue is the better defensive team. KenPom ranks the Boilermakers’ defensive efficiency at No. 15 in the nation, while the Zags are 44th. But the late-season trend line has Gonzaga closing the gap and of late playing quite well at that end of the floor.
Gonzaga has big bodies inside and depth there as well. Look for the Bulldogs to be a fair play on the money line (currently at +195, would take GU at +205 or better), but there figures to be a high enough probability of a 1-possession game to give bettors solid leverage on GONZAGA +5.5 (-110).
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The weekend passes include access to both of Thursday’s Sweet 16 games and Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown between the winners of Friday night’s games.
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The weekend passes include access to both of Thursday’s Sweet 16 games and Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown between the winners of Friday night’s games.
[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NCAA Tournament Detroit weekend passes” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/9OPZQNW”]
[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NCAA Tournament Detroit Sweet 16 tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/0eljBgW”]
The weekend passes include access to both of Thursday’s Sweet 16 games and Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown between the winners of Friday night’s games.
[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NCAA Tournament Detroit weekend passes” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/9OPZQNW”]
[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NCAA Tournament Detroit Sweet 16 tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/0eljBgW”]
Led by star center Zach Edey, here’s the full Purdue men’s basketball roster.
The Purdue Boilermakers entered March Madness as a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season, looking to redeem themselves from a shock loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson one year ago.
The Boilermakers are led by 7-foot-4 star Zach Edey, who earlier this year won the Big Ten Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.
Edey led the country in scoring with 24.6 points per game, averaged a double-double with 12.0 rebounds per game, and also ranked inside the top 20 nationally with 2.2 blocks per game.
Head coach Matt Painter has recruited extensively from inside the state of Indiana. In total, 11 of Purdue’s 17 players are from the Hoosier State, including a trio of players all from Fort Wayne.
Here’s the full Purdue men’s basketball roster for the 2023-24 season, listed by jersey number.
#0 Mason Gillis
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Size: 6-foot-6, 225 pounds
From: New Castle, Indiana
#1 Caleb Furst
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
Size: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
#2 Fletcher Loyer
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Guard
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-4, 180 pounds
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
#3 Braden Smith
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Guard
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-0, 175 pounds
From: Westfield, Indiana
#4 Trey Kaufman-Renn
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Forward
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-9, 230 pounds
From: Sellersburg, Indiana
#5 Myles Colvin
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Guard
Class: Freshman
Size: 6-foot-5, 200 pounds
From: Indianapolis, Indiana
#11 Brian Waddell
Syndication: Journal-Courier
Position: Forward
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-8, 190 pounds
From: Carmel, Indiana
#15 Zach Edey
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Center
Class: Senior
Size: 7-foot-4, 300 pounds
From: Toronto, Ontario
#20 Josh Furst
Purdue Boilermakers guard Jace Rayl (32) and Purdue Boilermakers forward Josh Furst (20) wait to be subbed on during the men’s basketball exhibition game against Grace College. Syndication: Journal-Courier
Our Big Ten women’s basketball tournament tracker is live with updated matchups, TV times, betting odds, bracket and more.
The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament is now set with the conclusion of the regular season now behind us. Ohio State claimed the top spot in the final Big Ten standings and will own the top seed in the women’s basketball tournament while Iowa and Caitlin Clark are looking to capture a third consecutive Big Ten tournament championship in a final push for a no. 1 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
This year’s Big Ten women’s basketball tournament will take place in the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a second straight year (the same venue will host next week’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament as well). Games throughout the tournament will be aired on the Peacock streaming platform, Big Ten Network or CBS and Paramount+.
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 4, 2024
We will be keeping track of the results and updated betting lines as the tournament plays out with our Big Ten women’s basketball tournament tracker. This will be updated throughout the Big Ten tournament so be sure to bookmark this link for future reference.
