High Point (13) vs. Purdue (4) Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Purdue Boilermakers enter the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament as a No. 4 seed. While the Boilermakers were blown out by Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, there was no chance the selection committee wouldn’t include last year’s runner up in March Madness.
This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history for the High Point Panthers, who clinched their birth in the national tournament by downing Winthrop in the championship of the Big South Tournament.
Purdue is a 7.5-point favourite to win on the NCAAB odds, with the total pegged at 153.5.
High Point vs. Purdue NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The 4 vs. 13 matchup hasn’t historically been the long shot most bettors think it is. No. 13 seeds have upset No. 4 seeds in 17 of the last 23 tournaments and since 1985, 13-seeds are 7-2 straight up against 4-seeds in games decided by one point. Just last year, No. 13 Yale eliminated No. 4 Auburn despite entering the game as 13.5-point underdogs.
Purdue comes in at +8000 to win the tournament, while their favoured result is a Sweet 16 appearance at +115 on the NCAAB futures board. It’s obviously a much different story for High Point. The Panthers are massive +100,000 underdogs to win the national championship and they are a dismal +1400 to reach the Sweet 16.
2025 March Madness Bracket Seeds: Most likely NCAA Tournament first round upsets
High Point Panthers (13)
Several experts have High Point circled as one of the most dangerous double-digit seeds and there’s a lot of upset potential against a Purdue program that became just the second No. 1 seed to lose in the first round when 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson shocked the Boilermakers in 2023.
Big South Coach of the Year Alan Huss led the Panthers to a 29-5 record this year, winning both the conference’s regular season championship and the tournament title. Led by Kezza Giffa (14.8 points per game) and Kimani Hamilton (13.4 ppg), High Point enters the tournament red-hot while boasting the longest active win streak in the nation at 14 games.
The Panthers’ offence is ranked 15th in the nation in two-point percentage, but there’s question marks on their defensive ability to keep Purdue in check. The safest bet for this game in my mind is taking the Over and banking on a lot of points.
Purdue Boilermakers (4)
Purdue will clearly be a weaker team this year after losing two-time National Player of the Year (and Canadian) Zach Edey to the NBA. They’ll also have to come to terms with a late season slide that saw them lose five of their last seven regular season games before bowing out of the Big Ten tournament in the quarterfinals.
The Boilermakers finished the year with a 22-11 record (13-7 in conference play), ending the regular season a disappointing sixth in the Big Ten. If you’re looking for players to highlight on this team, you have to start with Braden Smith, who is the Big Ten Player of the Year, and Trey Kaufman-Renn, who leads the team with 20.2 ppg.
The biggest difference between this year’s Purdue team and last year’s is in their defensive play. The Boilermakers were one of the best defensive teams in the nation last season, but they ended this year ranked 159th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Again, this could be a high scoring game.