Purdue Boilermakers vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 3/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs Houston Cougars

Date: Friday, March 28, 2025

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-8)

The Purdue Boilermakers (24-11) are hitting the road to Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday where they will meet the Houston Cougars (32-4) in the Sweet 16. Purdue opens this matchup as 8-point underdogs. The betting total is set at 133.

The Purdue Boilermakers faced off with McNeese State and walked away with a win by a score of 76-62 in their last game. Purdue wrapped up the contest with a 45.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 51) and buried 11 of their 26 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Boilermakers buried 19 of 23 attempts for a rate of 82.6%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they compiled 36 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 17 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When it comes to the defense, Purdue allowed the other team to shoot 44.6% from the field on 25 out of 56 shooting. McNeese State recorded 12 assists and had 11 steals in the matchup. In addition, McNeese State totaled 24 rebounds (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. McNeese State walked away from this one shooting 38.5% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of their 13 tries. They converted 7 of 21 attempts from distance. In the matter of personal fouls, the Boilermakers ended up walking away with 13 and McNeese State recorded 20 personal fouls.

Trey Kaufman-Renn is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. He finished the game at 58.3% from the floor and totaled 3 dimes. He saw the court for 38 minutes and also collected 15 boards. He accumulated 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

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Purdue comes into this one with a win-loss record of 24-11 on the campaign. They are turning it over 10.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Purdue is pulling in 33.0 boards per game and has accounted for 554 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 34th in the country in terms of passing. The Boilermakers are shooting 38.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (289 of 751) and 73.0% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 77.7 pts per game (79th in D-1) while going 48.8% from the field.

On defense, the Boilermakers are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers per game while drawing 18.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 348th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 514 conceded for the campaign. The Boilermakers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 45.4% (891 of 1,963) and they surrender 30.5 rebounds per game as a group. They concede 31.0% on 3-point shots while they are 135th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (70.6).

The last time they took the court, the Houston Cougars got the victory with a final of 81-76 when they faced Gonzaga. When it comes to rebounds, Houston allowed Gonzaga to get 25 in total (4 offensive). They finished 45.0% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 9 of 20 and finished the contest at 15 of 15 from the free throw line (100.0%). The Cougars permitted Gonzaga to convert 26 of their 52 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.0% for the game. When all was said and done, the Cougars went 29 out of 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.8%. In the matter of shots from beyond the arc, Houston knocked down 8 of their 16 attempts (50.0%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. Gonzaga was called for 16 fouls in this matchup which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 20 tries. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 7 steals for this game. The Cougars corralled 18 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this matchup.

LJ Cryer pitched in for the Cougars for the matchup. He tallied 30 points in his 37 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the contest. He made 8 of 15 for this game for a field goal rate of 53.3%, and earned 2 rebounds.

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Houston has a mark of 32-4 so far this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 45.7% from the floor, which has them ranked 117th in college. Houston has scored 2,682 points for the campaign (74.5 per game) and they grab 36.5 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 12.1 times per contest (288th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.2 times per contest. The Cougars are responsible for committing 16.3 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.1% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 1st in D-1 in PPG given up with 58.4. They are forcing 13.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 38.4% from the floor (5th in D-1). The Houston defense concedes 30.6% on 3-point attempts (243 of 795) and their opponents are connecting on 71.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 11.0 assists and 31.3 boards every game, ranking them 28th and 24th in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (-8)

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