A first-round NCAA Tournament matchup will see the 4-seed Purdue Boilermakers (18-9) hit the court as a 7.5-point favorite against the No. 13 seed North Texas Mean Green (17-9) on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The contest starts at 7:25 PM ET on TNT. Here’s what you need to know about this 4-13 matchup before filling out your brackets.
The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from DraftKings as of March 16, 2021, 12:10 AM ET.
Betting Odds
| Favorite | Spread | Favorite Spread Odds | Underdog Spread Odds | Total | Over Total Odds | Under Total Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | -7.5 | -114 | -106 | 126.5 | -108 | -112 |
Keys to the Game for Purdue
- The Boilermakers hold a solid record against the spread this year, going 14-9-1 ATS.
- When they are at least 7.5-point favorites, the Boilermakers have a record ATS of 1-2.
- The Boilermakers and their opponents have gone over the point total in 12 of 24 games (50%).
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Purdue Leaders
- The Boilermakers leader in points and rebounds is Trevion Williams, who scores 15.6 points and pulls down 9.0 boards per game.
- Purdue’s best passer is Eric Hunter Jr., who averages 2.8 assists per game to go with his 8.8 PPG scoring average.
- Sasha Stefanovic leads his teammates on the Boilermakers with 2.0 made threes per outing.
- Hunter and Zach Edey lead Purdue on the defensive end, with Hunter leading the team in steals averaging 1.1 per game and Edey in blocks averaging 1.0 per contest.
Keys to the Game for North Texas
- The Mean Green have a winning record against the spread, going 16-8 ATS (covering 66.7% of the time).
- When they are at least 7.5-point underdogs, the Mean Green have fared well, going 7-1 against the spread.
- In most of North Texas’ games this season, the teams have not hit the over (9 out of 24 games, 37.5%).
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
North Texas Leaders
- Javion Hamlet’s excellent performances this season give him the top spot on the Mean Green scoring and assists leaderboards with 14.9 points per game and 4.5 assists per game.
- Zachary Simmons collects all of the boards and is the North Texas leader in rebounds, grabbing 6.2 per game.
- James Reese averages 2.1 made threes per game to lead the Mean Green.
- The Mean Green leaders in steals and blocks are Reese (1.5 steals per game) and Thomas Bell (1.2 blocks per game).
Computer Picks
Pick ATS:
Mean Green (+7.5)
Pick OU:
Over (126.5)
Prediction: Purdue 70, North Texas 64
Predictions are calculated by a data-driven algorithm (raw power score) that ranks head-to-head matchup results within a closed network of games. Prediction confidence is determined by the delta between each team’s raw power score.
Last 5 Games
| Purdue | North Texas | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Date | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 3/12/2021 | Ohio State | Loss | 87-78 | 3/13/2021 | Western Kentucky | Win | 61-57 |
| 3/6/2021 | Indiana | Win | 67-58 | 3/12/2021 | Louisiana Tech | Win | 54-48 |
| 3/2/2021 | Wisconsin | Win | 73-69 | 3/11/2021 | Old Dominion | Win | 61-55 |
| 2/26/2021 | Penn State | Win | 73-52 | 3/10/2021 | Middle Tennessee | Win | 76-56 |
| 2/20/2021 | Nebraska | Win | 75-58 | 3/6/2021 | UAB | Loss | 65-61 |
Against The Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
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