March Madness Elite Eight: Tennessee vs Purdue Score
Only One Bet to Make After Looking at Tennessee vs Purdue Odds
Tennessee vs Purdue Final Score
Tennessee vs Purdue Preview
On Sunday, the Tennessee Volunteers will take on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Midwest Region’s Final at the Little Caesars Arena.
This will be a fun matchup between Dalton Knecht of Tennessee and Zach Edey of Purdue. Edey won the Big Ten Player of the Year award, among many other accolades. Meanwhile, Knecht was the SEC Player of the Year with Tennessee.
There will be plenty of star talent in this game.
Purdue is heading into this game with three consecutive wins over Grambling State, Utah State, and Gonzaga. However, none of those games proved to be challenging for Purdue, as the Boilermakers won all three games by double-digits.
On the other hand, Tennessee easily knocked off Saint Peter’s but had closer matchups against Texas and Creighton to reach the Elite Eight game.
But overall, we’ve got what most people expected. It’s the one-seed against the two-seed in the Midwest Region.
Earlier this season, Purdue defeated Tennessee, 71-67. The Boilermakers won that game after defeating Gonzaga. Coincidently, Purdue just beat Gonzaga and will play Tennessee now. Will we get the same March Madness results as the regular season?
The opening lines are officially out, and Purdue is a slight favorite, sitting at -3 (-110), with the total at 148.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the Tennessee vs Purdue odds below.
Tennessee Volunteers vs Purdue Boilermakers 
Day/Time:
Location:Little Caesars Arena
Streaming: CBS
Tennessee vs Purdue Odds & Trends
In the NCAA Tournament, Purdue has covered in all three games. The Boilermakers were favorites in all of them but also played well enough to win those games while laying points. The most recent win was a 4.5-point win over Gonzaga, who some thought would give Purdue fits.
Throughout the regular season, Purdue hit the Over four more times than the Under. In the postseason, the Under has hit three times in five games, including the Big Ten Tournament.
Conversely, Tennessee has only gone 2-2 against the spread in postseason play, including the SEC Tournament loss to Mississippi State. However, the Volunteers most recently covered and defeated Creighton in the Sweet 16 to make it into the Elite Eight.
No Vescovi, No Problem
The Tennessee Volunteers played the Sweet 16 without its veteran leader and lethal shooter, Santiago Vescovi. While he only scored 6.5 points per game this season, he added 12.5 points last year and led the team in points per game last year after shooting 37% from downtown.
It’s unconfirmed if Vescovi will be available for this matchup. But with this game being played in less than 48 hours, it’s probably unlikely that Vescovi plays in this game.
Tennessee still played nine guys against Creighton and had eight players who scored. Even without Vescovi, Tennessee has enough depth to beat any team in the nation.
Braden Smith’s Overlooked On Purdue
Although Zach Edey understandably gets the most credit for Purdue’s success, we must give Braden Smith his flowers.
Smith played all 40 minutes against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and scored 14 points while adding 15 assists and eight rebounds. He was super close to earning a triple-double with 15 assists against Gonzaga.
Smith keeps this team playing at a high level. He’s the guy who gets Edey and the rest of the guys involved.
His stat line this season is admirable, with 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game as a sophomore point guard, sitting at 6 feet tall.
He’s really the X-factor for the Boilermakers.
Trust Purdue’s Shot Making
While Tennessee has a top-three defense per KenPom, Purdue has a top-three offense per KenPom.
The Boilermakers have shot 41% from downtown this season, which currently leads the nation. Purdue has also nailed 53.7% from inside the arc and added 37.9% of offensive rebounds.
What stands out the most is Purdue’s ability to get to the foul line. The Boilermakers rank 13th in FTA/FGA on offense, while Tennessee ranks 258th. Purdue will get to the foul line, and the Boilermakers shoot 72% from the charity stripe, which is still above average.
Tennessee’s fouls come because of the aggressiveness on defense. But with the fouls come more turnovers. It’s just more unlikely Purdue will turn the ball over at a high rate when the Boilermakers have only allowed 16.3% of turnovers per game this season.
While Tennessee’s defense is better, Purdue’s defense also plays at an elite level. The Boilermakers have held teams to 31.4% from downtown and 47.8% from inside the arc. Purdue has also limited foul shots at a much higher rate on defense and has only allowed 24.3% of offensive rebounds per game this year.
Purdue will likely win the foul-shooting matchup and earn more rebounds on both ends of the ball. The only thing Purdue won’t do better is forcing turnovers. The Boilermakers have added only 13.7% of turnovers per game this year. But other than that, the Boilermakers have the edge against Tennessee.
If you looked at the college basketball scores today from Marquette’s recent game against NC State, it’s clear that you don’t want to rely on any team to shoot from downtown. While Purdue shoots 41% from downtown, the Boilermakers only get 30.2% of points from deep.
Tennessee has scored 32.7% of points from three-point range but only shoots 33.9% from deep. They’re less efficient from deep and take more shots from three. Meanwhile, Purdue will take more looks from inside the arc, which are higher-quality looks.
In that earlier game, Tennessee drained just 26.7% from three, while Purdue hit 38.5% from downtown. Purdue also added six more defensive rebounds and seven more offensive rebounds. That will likely be the difference.
After looking through the NCAA basketball lines, Purdue stands out. The Tennessee vs Purdue odds that we’re on include Tennessee at -3 (-110).
For odds on NCAA Tournament games today, betting analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
