Fairleigh Dickinson vs Purdue March Madness Betting Preview: Purdue Looks to Avoid Another Early Exit

Big Ten Champion Purdue Boilermakers Plan to Be Around for a While

Undersized FDU Will Have Hands Full With Purdue’s Man In the Middle

It is quite possible that during the broadcast of this East Region game that it will be mentioned that Fairleigh Dickinson is the shortest team at the Division I level, with an average height of 6-foot-4 as they match up with Purdue’s 7-foot-4 national player of the year front-runner Zach Edey. Edey is a major reason why the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Purdue March Madness betting preview has Purdue as the heavy favorite.

If this game gets out of control, the Knights can thank fellow New Jersey-based mid-major St. Peter’s. The Peacocks, just 15 miles away from FDU, stunned Purdue in a 2-15 matchup in last year’s NCAA tournament. Expect Purdue to be ready to make sure history does not repeat.

When looking at the March Madness odds, Purdue is tied for third at +1200.

Fairleigh Dickinson: Embracing David vs Goliath Matchup

Fairleigh Dickinson shot its way into a matchup with top-seeded Purdue and now are the underdogs according to the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Purdue March Madness betting preview.

The Knights outscored Texas Southern 33-3 at the 3-point line in Wednesday’s 84-61 win as the March Madness field got down to 64 teams.

Ansley Almonor led the way as he was 5 of 8 from distance and scored 23 points in the victory in the play-in game. That was two points shy of his season high.

Demetre Roberts has scored in double figures in all four postseason games after putting up 15. He has 21 assists and eight turnovers in the four games and that will be crucial heading into Friday’s matchup with the Big Ten champions. Roberts is just a year removed from leading St. Thomas Aquinas to the East Region final in the 2022 NCAA DIvision II tournament.

How They Got Here

Fairleigh Dickinson trailed for just 1:11 in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Northeast Conference tournament. That was enough to get the Knights into the tournament once Merrimack punched its ticket to the conference title game. Merrimack is not eligible for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Roberts averaged 15 points and 5.7 assists during the NEC tournament.

The Knights never trailed in Wednesday’s win over Texas Southern in the play-in game to set up the showdown with Purdue.

Fairleigh Dickinson has covered against the college basketball betting lines in four of its last five games.

How Far Will They Go

It was an impressive showing for FDU on Wednesday night and while last year’s run by St. Peter’s is proof that anything can happen when it comes to March Madness, it certainly feels like this will be the end of the road for the Knights, facing a Purdue team eager to atone for last season’s first-round nightmare.

Purdue: Big Man, Big Dreams

The last time Purdue took to the court in the NCAA tournament, the result was one of the stunning results in the 2022 March Madness bracket. When looking at the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Purdue March Madness betting preview it could be a different outcome this time around.

No. 15 seed St. Peter’s came away with the 67-64 win. It was just the second time a No. 15 seed won in the last five NCAA tournaments.

Purdue’s Zach Edey was on the court for just 17 minutes in the game despite not picking up any fouls. Expect to see much more of the player who is listed by the sportsbook as the favorite to win the national player of the year awards.

Edey finished with 62 points and 27 rebounds in wins over Ohio State and Purdue in the final two games of the Big Ten tournament and it won’t be a surprise to see more huge numbers on Friday.

While it shouldn’t matter on Friday, Purdue will need more from Edey’s supporting cast as the tournament moves along.

Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Brandon Newman were a combined 2 for 20 from the field and 1 of 10 on 3-pointers against Penn State in the Big Ten title game.

How They Got Here

After winning the Big Ten regular season title by three games, Purdue had to work for the conference tournament championship.

Rutgers, is responsible for one of the five conference losses by the Boilermakers, was within a point with 8:34 to play in the Big Ten quarterfinals before Purdue scored the next six points.

Ohio State led by eight points in the first half in the semifinals before the Boilermakers pulled away and Penn State had the ball with less than 10 seconds to play with a chance to either win or tie before a late turnover gave Purdue the 67-65 win and its first Big Ten tournament title since 2009.

How Far Will They Go

Purdue is a No. 1 seed for a reason. Some might be a little hesitant to trust Purdue based on the Boilermakers’ recent March Madness history and the fact that the No. 2 and 3 scorers on this team are freshmen.

The road to the Final Four doesn’t figure to be an easy one. Memphis is coming off a win over top-ranked Houston while Florida Atlantic has won seven straight games. One of those teams will be waiting in the second round.

Duke is a popular pick to win the East Region after capturing the ACC tournament title. If Purdue makes it to the regional final, Big East champion Marquette might be the opponent with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

Handicapping the Game

Fairleigh Dickinson is 2-25 against teams currently in the Big Ten and that includes a 94-79 loss to Purdue in the first round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. The Knights have dropped 10 straight games to Big Ten teams.

The last time Purdue faced a No. 16 seed, the Boilermakers escaped with a 73-71 win over Western Carolina in 1996.

FDU did cover the last time meeting a No. 1 seed from the Big Ten, falling to Illinois 67-55 in 2005 as a 26-point underdog.

Purdue has failed to cover in each of the last four games when favored by at least 20 points. FDU has covered in five of the last eight matchups when listed by the Las Vegas odds as a double-digit underdog. Purdue is a 23-point favorite in this matchup. (Odds change frequently, be sure to check for the most up to date changes.)

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