Vermont Vs Purdue Free Pick, Lines & TV Info

When it comes time to take part in the playoffs in any sport, it is very often the team holding the hot hand that makes a deep run in the postseason. This is where you can often find potential bracket busters when March Madness rolls around, as it’s possible for a hot lower seeded team to ride the wave of momentum that carried them into the tournament in the first place. If you are looking for a hot team with a shot at causing an upset, look no further than the Vermont Catamounts. When they knocked off Albany to win the American East Conference at the end of the regular season, they recorded their 21st straight win, which was the best ending run to the season that anyone put together. Granted, a lot of these wins came against lesser opponents, but it’s tough not to have an off night in a run that long. The Catamounts will have their work cut out for them when they face the #4 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in the opening round of the Midwest Region. Find the updated college basketball spreads here.

Analyzing The Catamounts Vs Boilermakers Free Pick, Lines & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 16 at 7:27 PM ESTWhere: BMO Harris Bradley Center, MilwaukeeTV: TruTVLive Stream: NCAA LiveNCAAB Odds: TBA  

Why bet on the Vermont Catamounts

Despite being a 9.5-point underdog for this one, it’s tough to count out the Vermont Catamounts altogether, especially when you take that 21-game winning streak to end the season into account. One of the things that makes this team so dangerous is that they don’t rely on a single player to get the wins, as the scoring in this group is spread out rather evenly. That may have been a benefit to them in the American East, but it’s something that could come back to hurt them in the tournament. We really don’t have much to go on in terms of this team playing as the underdog, as it only happened twice this year, with the Catamounts going 1-1 ATS in those games.

Why bet on the Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue are coming into the tournament after winning the Big Ten regular season championship, which was enough to land them the #4 spot in their region. The Boilermakers have a game-changer on Caleb Swanigan, who just so happens to be a very legitimate player of the year candidate. Swanigan averaged over 18 PPG this season, and the Boilermakers will go as far as he will carry them. If this team has a weakness, it’s that they are often quite slack on the defensive side of the ball. If they play that way in this game, they could end up getting dragged into a bit of a shootout that might keep this thing close. Purdue were a very healthy 17-7-2 ATS as a favorite this year.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

The smart money here will be on the Boilermakers to win, but I have a feeling that this game might be closer than a lot of people expect it to be. I think Vermont have what it takes to cover here.

Vermont Catamounts 76 Purdue Boilermakers 84