- What: NCAA Men’s Sweet 16 Game
- When: March 28, 2025
- Who: Purdue vs. Houston
- Time: 7:09 p.m. PST
- Where: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN)
The No. 4 seed Purdue Boilermakers will face off against the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup in the Midwest Region this Friday.
The game will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with tip-off scheduled for 10:09 p.m. ET.
Purdue started its tournament run with a solid 75-63 victory over the High Point Panthers on March 20, successfully covering the 8-point spread.
They followed that up with a 76-62 win against the McNeese Cowboys in Round 32 on Saturday, again exceeding expectations as 6.5-point favorites.
Forward Trey Kaufman-Renn led the team with a standout performance, scoring 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Purdue’s offensive prowess has been a key factor in its success this season. It ranks eighth in KenPom’s offensive ratings, but it sits further down at 55th for defense.
On the other hand, Houston is known for its exceptional defensive capabilities.
It currently ranks as the top defensive team in the nation and holds the 11th spot in offensive ratings. The Cougars won in the Big 12 Tournament before kicking off their NCAA Tournament journey.
They dominated the No. 16 seed SIUE Cougars with a score of 78-40 in the opening round on March 20.
They kept the momentum going with an 81-76 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round on Saturday, covering 28.5-point and 5-point favorites, respectively.
Guard L.J. Cryer was instrumental in the win against Gonzaga, putting up 30 points and sinking 6 three-pointers.
Both teams boast potent offenses, ranking in the top 12 nationally, according to KenPom.
Houston has been particularly impressive lately, scoring a minimum of 72 points in their last five games, with two of those going Over the total.
Meanwhile, Purdue has a 4-3 record against the Over/Under in its past seven games, scoring at least 75 points in six of those matchups.
While they’ll be up against a formidable defense, the Boilermakers have three players averaging over 13 points per game, each shooting at least 43% during the regular season. Their scoring consistency bodes well for them.
Purdue-Houston Best Bet
Best Bet: Over 133.5 Points at -115 odds
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
