This is the time of the year where the Butler Bulldogs always seem to shine. Butler has won its first NCAA Tournament game and made it into the Round of 32 for the seventh straight time. Now, the Bulldogs are looking to make their fourth Sweet 16 appearance this decade and get some revenge on an in-state rival to boot. The Purdue Boilermakers are looking to keep the dream alive despite one of their key players suffering a season-ending injury that will hurt their chances.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, March 18, 2018, at 12:10 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The game will be televised live on CBS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Butler +3.5
Purdue -3.5
Over/Under 145.5
Butler led Arkansas for all but a couple minutes of their First Round matchup on Friday. The duo of Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin lifted the team just like it has all year, with Martin and Baldwin each shooting better than 50 percent from the floor and combining for 51 points. The Bulldogs easily covered the spread in this one and crushed Arkansas on the glass while also holding the Razorbacks to 35.7 percent from the floor.
It was pretty easy pickings for Purdue as well. The Boilermakers were never tested in a win over Cal State Fullerton, despite shooting just 39 percent from the floor. Purdue’s 12 offensive rebounds helped the team get second chances and the Boilers did a lot of damage at the line too.
Key Injury
With the game in hand, Purdue’s Isaac Haas suffered an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. Haas went up for a rebound, but he got tied up with a Cal State Fullerton player and ended up fracturing his elbow as a result.
Haas was the team’s second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder too. He played the least minutes of all the starters, but it’s hard to overestimate his impact. His size freed up room for his teammates to grab rebounds, and he was the most reliable scoring option too. Haas hit 62.1 percent of his field goals on the year.
Last Meeting
These teams met at the Crossroads Classic earlier this year in a game that had a wild second half.
Purdue was fantastic in the first half of this one. The Boilermakers ended the half up 35-19 thanks to some great defense. They allowed Butler to hit just 21.2 percent of its field goals in the first half and did not let Baldwin have any sort of success. Baldwin ended up going 5-19 in the game with five turnovers.
He wasn’t the only Bulldog to be too loose with the ball. Butler was flustered by Purdue’s defense throughout the game and committed a season-high 18 turnovers in the loss. In addition to that, Butler had 10 shots blocked by Purdue.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the second half without Haas. He didn’t play much in the first game due to foul trouble, spending just 16 minutes on the court. With that in mind, this line might be a little low and an overreaction to the news from earlier today.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
Both the public and the oddsmakers seem to be off Purdue at this point. The Boilermakers moved from 12-1 odds to win the NCAA Tournament to 25-1 after the severity of Haas’ injury was announced, even though this team has a ton of talent around him.
Vincent Edwards, Carsen Edwards, and Dakota Mathias have all been fantastic this season, and these three will lead the charge for Purdue. Look for the Boilermakers to cover the spread thanks to some great defense.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Purdue 76 Butler 69
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