Purdue and Tennessee meet in Elite 8

Sun, Mar 31, 2024
NCAAB News (AP)

Tennessee Volunteers (27-8, 14-5 SEC) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (32-4, 18-4 Big Ten)

Detroit; Sunday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Boilermakers -3.5; over/under is 147.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 3 Purdue takes on No. 6 Tennessee in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers are 18-4 against Big Ten opponents and 14-0 in non-conference play. Purdue leads the Big Ten with 26.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Zach Edey averaging 7.4.

The Volunteers' record in SEC action is 14-5. Tennessee is the top team in the SEC giving up just 67.3 points per game while holding opponents to 38.8% shooting.

Purdue makes 49.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 10.4 percentage points higher than Tennessee has allowed to its opponents (38.8%). Tennessee has shot at a 44.2% clip from the field this season, 2.4 percentage points above the 41.8% shooting opponents of Purdue have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Smith is averaging 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals for the Boilermakers. Edey is averaging 28.2 points and 12.7 rebounds while shooting 64.9% over the last 10 games.

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Dalton Knecht averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Volunteers, scoring 21.2 points while shooting 39.2% from beyond the arc. Zakai Zeigler is shooting 34.7% and averaging 13.9 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 9-1, averaging 82.1 points, 39.1 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 5.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game.

Volunteers: 8-2, averaging 76.1 points, 40.1 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.