Purdue and Gonzaga play in the Sweet 16

Published Mar. 29, 2024 3:42 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-7, 15-3 WCC) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (31-4, 18-4 Big Ten)

Detroit; Friday, 7:39 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Boilermakers -5.5; over/under is 154.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 3 Purdue and No. 18 Gonzaga meet in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Boilermakers are 18-4 against Big Ten opponents and 13-0 in non-conference play. Purdue is 27-4 against opponents with a winning record.

The Bulldogs are 15-3 in WCC play. Gonzaga ranks third in the WCC with 9.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Graham Ike averaging 2.3.

Purdue scores 83.9 points, 15.1 more per game than the 68.8 Gonzaga gives up. Gonzaga has shot at a 51.9% clip from the field this season, 10.3 percentage points greater than the 41.6% shooting opponents of Purdue have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Smith is averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the Boilermakers. Zach Edey is averaging 24.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over the last 10 games.

Ike is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 7.3 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Nolan Hickman is averaging 2.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 8-2, averaging 81.0 points, 39.5 rebounds, 19.8 assists, 5.1 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.7 points per game.

Bulldogs: 9-1, averaging 85.3 points, 35.1 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 5.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 55.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.0 points.

___

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

share