Saint Peter’s Peacocks vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Preview

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Betting Preview

March’s Cinderella, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, became the third 15-seed in NCAA tournament history to reach the Sweet Sixteen, joining Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year. Now the Peacocks (21-11) will get a chance to slay the highest seed remaining in the East Region when they meet third-seeded Purdue at 7:09 p.m. ET on Friday, and an opportunity to be the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight.

The Boilermakers (29-7) are one of two Big Ten teams still standing after wins over Yale, 78-56, and Texas, 81-71. While Purdue struggled to close the regular season, going 4-3, it is 4-1 in the postseason with its lone loss to Iowa, 75-66, in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Saint Peter’s won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament after winning three tournament games. The Peacocks are on a nine-game winning streak, including wins over Kentucky, 85-79 in overtime, and Murray State, 70-60.

The line opened at Purdue -12 with an over/under of 136.5. Those have since moved to Purdue -12.5 with an over/under of 135.5 as of this writing.

Purdue Boilermakers Betting Preview: Let Athletes be Athletes

A lot of Power 5 programs can say they have better athletes than mid-majors, but Purdue has been a top-10 ranked team all year due to their depth. It showed against Yale and Texas with 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey and All-American forward Trevion Williams coming off the bench in Edey’s place. There is a likely NBA lottery pick in Jaden Ivey and a plethora of guards in Eric Hunter Jr., Sasha Stefanovich, Isaiah Thompson, and Brandon Newman. Plus stretch forwards Caleb Furst and Ethan Morton.

Advantage Purdue, especially if it pushes the pace to the tune of the seventh-best scoring team (80.7 points per game) in the country. The Boilermakers are also third in shooting efficiency at 49.7% from the field and 39.7% on 3-pointers. They are also 43rd in rebounding at 35.1 per game and hold opponents to 25.5 rebounds per contest, the best rate in the country.

Saint Peter’s Peacocks betting preview: Be More Physical

Shaheen Holloway’s squad is one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 24th while allowing 62.4 points per game. The Peacocks are 18th in defensive efficiency, holding teams to 39.1% of field goal attempts, and 26th in 3-point efficiency at 30.0%.

Doug Edert has led the way averaging 14.2 points on 44.4% 3-point shooting across five postseason games. KC Ndefo and Darryl Banks III are also averaging double figures this postseason. Saint Peter’s takes an all-hands-on-deck rebounding approach and will need it to try and knock off Purdue.

Saint Peter’s-Purdue Betting Prediction

The aforementioned rough stretch for Purdue to close the season extended into the postseason for bettors. The Boilermakers were 0-8-2 against the spread to close the regular season and three tournament games before the NCAA Tournament began. For the season, the Boilermakers are 15-19-2 against the spread and 19-17 on over/unders. Saint Peter’s is 21-9-1 against the spread and 13-18 on over/unders.

Simply put, Purdue has better athletes and it’s hard to match up with the interior Purdue has to offer. The Boilermakers are laying a lot of points but they should cover 12.5 with ease.

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