Moving up the seeding chart has done wonders for the Purdue Boilermakers. The No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region held up its end of the deal with a first round win over Vermont, ending the nation’s longest winning streak in the process. Purdue also advanced to the second day of play for the first time in three seasons after falling as the No. 9 seed two years ago and being upset as a No. 5 seed last year. The Boilers can advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009 with a win over the Iowa State Cyclones.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 9:40 p.m. ET at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The game will be televised live on TBS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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The Big 12 had two different teams top the AP Poll this season and a third get as high as No. 7, but it was the Cyclones who finished in a tie for second place in the conference standings and won the tournament title. So playing in the second round shouldn’t be too much of a concern for them as they play in arguably the toughest conference in the country. And the Cyclones have been rolling with 10 wins in their past 11 games after getting past a pesky Nevada club in the opener. ISU covered the 6-point spread and will be favored against Purdue after going 9-2 ATS in its past 11 games.
You know the Boilermakers were feeling the heat after two straight first round exits, but they put it together and held off Vermont to reach the second round for the first time since 2012. And they did it by putting together a solid second half of basketball. After leading by just one at the break, the Boilers outscored the Catamounts 43-34 in the second half to cover the 8.5-point line and cash the over. The over is 5-2 in Purdue’s past seven games and we could see a high-scoring affair in this one with two explosive offensive teams.
Player to Watch
His coach calls him the best point guard in the country, but Monte Morris just likes playing basketball. He did nearly everything for the Cyclones on Thursday in what turned out to be just another day at the office for him. Morris led a balanced attack with 19 points while dishing out eight assists and grabbing eight rebounds.
Morris will need to be at the top of his game Saturday. The Boilermakers have a size advantage down low, which will lead to the guard play of ISU being heavily involved. And that involvement begins with Morris. He did have an uncharacteristic four turnovers against the Wolf Pack and that could hurt against a better Purdue club. But if Morris takes care of the basketball and does what he’s been doing all year, the Cyclones have a great chance of advancing.
Key Stat
Both teams score over 80 points per game and reached that number in the opening round. They have balance and depth and neither has much of an advantage on that side of the ball. Purdue has better numbers defensively in part because of their ability to defend the rim with Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas. Those two are massive in the middle and thwarted any chance of Vermont establishing an inside presence.
Purdue is 17th in defensive efficiency this season allowing opponents just 93.1 points per 100 possessions. The Boilers held Vermont to 44 percent shooting from the floor and grabbed 11 more rebounds.
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Purdue’s last two losses were to Michigan, a team similar to Iowa State in that it relies on the playmaking ability of guards to create offense. The Cyclones have three good ones in Morris, Deonte Burton and Naz Mitrou-Long, who combined for 46 points in the win over Nevada. They’ll have to be good because it will be tough for ISU to get any offense down low against Purdue’s taller front court.
That didn’t bother the Cyclones this season, however, as they ran through the Big 12 scoring 81 points an outing. There will be two top level NBA prospects going head-to-head in Swanigan and Morris and whichever stud plays the best will give his team an edge. Morris can do a bit more for his team than Swanigan and ISU’s support cast will have a big day leading the Cyclones to the Sweet 16.
College Basketball Odds: Iowa State 83, Purdue 76
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