Purdue basketball traveled up to Milwaukee, which is Algonquin for “the only B1G team to earn a top four pod seed this season.”
They’re facing a plucky underdog Vermont team that comes into this one riding the nation’s longest current winning streak.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
[4] Purdue Boilermakers (25-7) vs. [13] Vermont Catamounts (29-5) / Midwest Region
Thursday, March 16, 2017 / 7:27 p.m. ET / TruTV
TV Talent:ย Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Debbie Antonelli, Lisa Byington
Milwaukee, Wis. / BMO Harris Bradley Center (19,000)
Odds: Purdue Basketball -8.5
Odds of winning it all: Purdue basketball 30/1, Vermont Catamounts are included in “the field,” which is set at 500/1.
Purdue Basketball Preview:
Caleb Swanigan needs to be Biggie Swanigan, the reigning B1G Player of the Year, and alpha dog for the B1G regular season champs, and lead this team to the promised land of the Midwest regional in Kansas City.
The NCAA Tournament can do wonders for your NBA Draft stock (Swanigan NBA Draft stock available at this link), especially if you’re making a very deep run and showcasing your skills on the brightest stage.
The National Player of the Year candidate is 1-of-5 finalists for the Karl Malone Award.ย Given to the nation’s top power forward, Swanigan is joined on the list by Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen, Baylor’s Johnathan Motley, Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson and UCLA’s T.J. Leaf.ย
The Purdue four man is the favorite to win the award.ย
Everybody’s All-American is averaging 18.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in leading Purdue to its 23rd Big Ten championship, the most of any school.ย
He can’t do it alone, he needs those unsung Purdue basketball heroes in the back court and on the wings to help him.ย Purdue’s 29 NCAA Tournament appearances are the 22nd most in NCAA Tournament history and Purdue’s 35 wins and 63 games are the 28th most. Their 23rd B1G regular season title is the most of any league program.
Last Friday they were eliminated by Michigan in their opening game of the B1G Tournament. Boilers everywhere echoed the “well, let’s hope they got it out of their system now, and much better here than in the real tournament” sentiment.
Last March they went all the way to the B1G tournament title game, where they fell to Michigan State in the finale. Then, the Purdue Boilermakers fell in their opening NCAA Tournament game, victims of the #12 over #5 curse. Little Rock knocked the Boilers out 85-83 in double overtime.
Matt Painter has been with the program since 2006, guiding them to two sweet sixteens, but never any further. The last Elite 8 appearance by a Purdue basketball team came in 2000 under Gene Keady, and the Boilers’ most recent Final Four occurred in 1980.
Vermont Catamounts Preview
The Catamounts come in at 29-5, and champions of the America East conference. Their celebrity fans include Ben & Jerry of the ice cream empire and the band Phish. Thus, the Boilers may go on a Wavy Gravy, Cherry Garcia and Phish Food boycott until this game is over.
Vermont is not a match-up to be taken lightly, as they have done damage in the NCAA Tournament before. In 2005, the Catamounts upset #4 seed Syracuse as a #13, so beware. Taylor Coppenrath #NeverForget
They lost to Michigan State in the next round, marking the deepest they have ever progressed in the big dance.
Led by Coach John Becker (139-68), they won both the America East regular season, and conference tournament titles this season, and enter this game winners of 21 in a row. They have three guys on the team who average double digit scoring per game. Anthony Lamb leads the way at 12.6 ppg, Payton Henson averages 11.4, and Trae-Bell Haynes 11.1.
Prediction: Purdue Basketball wins 73-64
If Purdue wins, they get the victor of the infamous #12 vs #5 match-up in Milwaukee, with Iowa State the favorite, and Nevada the underdog.
Either way, it would be a big challenge, and should Purdue basketball survive to the second weekend, #1 seed Kansas likely awaits in Kansas City, a sentence which contains lots of intimidating imagery, and rightfully so.
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank.netย and TheBank.News, partnered withย FOX Sports Engage Network.ย andย News Now.ย Banks, a former writer for the Washington Timesย and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com,ย Bold,ย WGN CLTVย and KOZN.ย
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