No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 15 St. Peter’s preview, picks for Sweet 16 of 2022 NCAA Tournament

The No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers caught a break heading into their Sweet 16 matchup with the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks as double-digit favorites to advance to the Elite Eight. The Peacocks are the Cinderella team of the tournament, and another victory would be as incredible of a run as you’ll see in NCAA Tournament history.

Friday night’s game will get started at 7:09 p.m. ET and will air on CBS.

No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers: 29-7 (14-6 Big Ten):

First round result: 78-56 vs. No. 14 Yale
Second round result: 81-71 vs. No. 6 Texas
KenPom rating: 12 Overall, 2 Offense, 89 Defense
NET ranking: 13, (8-6 VS Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Jaden Ivey (17.6 ppg)
Key stat: Zach Edey grabbed at least 9 rebounds in each of the last four games.

The Purdue Boilermakers rolled through the No. 14 Yale Bulldogs easily in Round 1 and got past the No. 6 seed Texas Longhorns, shooting 46 free throws in the process to advance to the Sweet 16.

Jaden Ivey is playing well when the team needs him as he has scored at least 17 points in all five games since the regular season ended.

Watch for Purdue get to the foul line often. You’re probably not going to see another 46 free throw attempts because that’s insane, but the Boilermakers are excellent at drawing fouls.

No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks: 21-11 (14-6 MAAC):

First round result: 85-79 (OT) vs. No. 2 Kentucky
Second round result: 70-60 vs. No. 7 Murray State
KenPom rating: 102 Overall, 226 Offense, 28 Defense
NET ranking: 124, (0-3 VS Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Daryl Banks III
Key stat: St. Peter’s beat Murray State by 10 despite shooting just 3-of-13 from three-point range.

The Peacocks pulled off the stunner of the NCAA Tournament with an overtime win over the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in Round 1, and they followed that up with a 10-point win over the no. 7 seed Murray State Racers.

KC Ndefo will need to play a big role as the do-it-all forward is coming off a huge game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 assists and a steal.

Watch for Saint Peter’s to put all their effort into the defensive end. The Peacocks have a significantly better defense than Purdue according to KenPom, and they need to play their best to limit Purdue and have a chance at another upset.

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook

Point spread: Purdue -12.5
Point total: 135.5
Moneyline: Purdue -1000, St. Peter’s +650

The Pick

Against The Spread Pick: St. Peter’s +12.5
Point total pick: Under 135.5
Pick to Win: Purdue

The Peacocks will do enough defensively to keep the point total down and keep themselves within this point spread. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Boilermakers won by double digits just once in their final 10 games. Purdue is not a team that has consistently been able to blow teams out this season, and they’ll let Saint Peter’s stick around till pulling away at the end.

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