Purdue and Fairleigh Dickinson square off in opening round of NCAA Tournament
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (20-15, 10-6 NEC) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (29-5, 15-5 Big Ten)
Columbus, Ohio; Friday, 6:50 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Purdue -23; over/under is 145
BOTTOM LINE: The No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
The Boilermakers have gone 15-5 against Big Ten opponents, with a 14-0 record in non-conference play. Purdue is second in the Big Ten with 15.5 assists per game led by Braden Smith averaging 4.3.
The Knights are 10-6 against NEC teams. Fairleigh Dickinson is 2-0 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.2 turnovers per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 assists for the Boilermakers. Zach Edey is averaging 22.0 points over the last 10 games for Purdue.
Demetre Roberts is scoring 16.6 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Knights. Ansley Almonor is averaging 14.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 43.6% over the past 10 games for Fairleigh Dickinson.
LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 7-3, averaging 70.8 points, 34.1 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.7 points per game.
Knights: 6-4, averaging 76.6 points, 31.8 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
