Tennessee (2) vs. Purdue (1) Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Vols overcame a narrow halftime deficit to get past the No. 3 Creighton Bluejays 82-75 in Friday night’s Sweet 16 action, earning the school just its second ever Elite Eight berth and first since 2010. While the Volunteers needed to overcome an early deficit, the Boilermakers dominated while disposing of Gonzaga in an 80-68 victory on Saturday night and have now claimed victory by an average margin of 26.3 points while going undefeated straight up and against the spread in their first three games at this year’s Big Dance.
The Boilermakers have emerged as 3.5-point favourites on the Elite Eight odds in this clash of the top two seeds in the Midwest Region, and the total is pegged at 147.5.
Tennessee vs. Purdue NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
If there was ever any doubt that the Boilermakers are legitimate contenders to claim this year’s national championship, they were dispelled with their convincing performance in Friday’s win over the Zags. The Purdue offence has remained consistently effective, scoring at least 40 points in five of the six halves played so far at this tournament, and has averaged an impressive 81.9 points per game during the squad’s current 9-1 SU run. Accordingly, the Boilermakers continue to trail only the defending champion UCONN Huskies as a +340 bet on the national championship odds.
The Volunteers will be looking to avenge a heartbreaking 99-94 overtime loss to Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen five years ago when they hit the floor at Little Caesars Arena for Sunday afternoon’s matchup. The Vols also dropped a 71-67 decision to the Boilermakers as 3.5-point underdogs this past November, but have played impressive defence during their current 10-2 run, holding opponents to under 60 points five times, fueling an 8-4 run for the UNDER.
Tennessee Volunteers (2)
Dalton Knecht led the Vols attack with his most productive performance of the NCAA Tournament in Saturday’s win, scoring 24 points and adding six rebounds. Knecht has now averaged 21.7 points and 7.7 boards per game at March Madness to climb into the top five on the March Madness Most Outstanding Player odds as a +800 bet. After shooting just 2-for-12 for six points in Tennessee’s Second Round win over Texas, diminutive junior Zakai Ziegler bounced back on Saturday with 18 points including three threes and has conbtributed 7.7 assists per game at the tourney.
Purdue Boilermakers (1)
It was another big night for Toronto’s own Zach Edey in Saturday’s victory over Gonzaga. The highest scoring player in the nation this season led all shooters with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Now perched as a +350 favourite on the Most Outstanding Player odds, Edey has averaged 27 points and 14.3 boards while recording six straight double-doubles and piled up 23 points and 10 rebounds in just 26 minutes of action in Purdue’s early-season win over the Vols.
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