Utah State vs. Purdue Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Aggies are coming off an 88-72 win over TCU on Friday night that snapped the school’s nine-game losing streak in First Round action since 2001. The Boilermakers faced little resistance while disposing the debutant Grambling State Tigers on Friday to improve to 7-1 over their past eight games.
The Boilermakers are once again perched as big betting chalk, favoured by 10.5 points in Sunday afternoon’s matchup at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and the total is listed at 148.5
Utah St. vs. Purdue NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Sunday’s game marks the first meeting between these teams since Purdue rolled to a decisive 85-64 win over the Aggies back in November 2016. Overall, the Boilermakers have earned their top seeding by winning 16 of their past 18 games and enter the Second Round trailing only the defending champion UCONN Huskies and Houston Cougars as a +700 bet on the national championship odds. But they have otherwise enjoyed little success on the college basketball odds, going just 5-9 against the spread in their past 14 and just 2-4 ATS in their past six as double-digit chalk.
Having ended their epic losing streak at the NCAA Tournament, the Aggies now face the daunting task of punching their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since March Madness expanded to 64 teams. The squad has won nine of 11 overall, but like Purdue, the Aggies have been a betting disappointment of late, going 4-8-1 ATS in their past 13 overall. Utah State has also lost outright in 18 straight as double-digit underdogs while going 7-11 ATS.
Utah St. Aggies
It looked as if the Aggies’ First Round woes would continue as the team struggled to gain the advantage early on against TCU. However, they quickly took control with a 10-1 run after the break and never looked back. The Aggies converted a solid 55% from the floor and 8-for-19 from beyond the arc. Senior Ian Martinez led the attack with 21 points and three threes, but has followed up on his past two 20+ point outings with disappointing six-point performances.
Purdue Boilermakers
The Boilermakers had to fight off a late first-half rally by Grambling but never trailed on their way to Friday’s 78-50 victory. Indeed, the Boilermakers never let up after the break, outpacing the Tigers by a wide 42-23 margin, marking the fourth time they have topped 40 points after the half during their current 7-1 run. Not surprisingly, it was another monster night for Toronto’s Zach Edey, who led all shooters with 30 points to go along with 21 rebounds. Edey has now averaged 28 points and 14.5 boards per game while recording four straight double-doubles.
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