On Saturday, March 21, the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers face the No. 12 McNeese Cowboys at 12:10 p.m. ET. Purdue beat No. 13 High Point on Thursday 75-63. McNeese had one of the biggest upsets on the first day of March Madness when they beat No. 5 Clemson 69-67. Here is my favorite bet for Purdue vs. McNeese on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Purdue vs. McNeese (12:10 p.m. ET)
Purdue’s star duo of Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith each scored 20-plus points against High Point. Even though Smith scored 20 points, he finished 6-19 from the field, unlike him. Smith must be more efficient if they want to get past a tough McNeese team.
McNeese has been a March Madness darling with its elite head coach, Will Wade, and social media sensation, Amir “Aura” Khan. The final score says McNeese only beat Clemson by two points, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of that game. McNeese had an 18-point lead at halftime and led by as much as 21 points in the second half. Clemson scored 14 points in the game’s final minute, but it already seemed out of reach for the Tigers.
Brandon Murray led the Cowboys in scoring, while three other McNeese players scored double-digit points. McNeese held Clemson to 36 percent field-goal shooting and 30 percent on three-pointers. Purdue is a -5.5 favorite in this matchup on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Although McNeese hasn’t faced much elite competition this season, Thursday’s performance wasn’t a one-off for the Cowboys. They have dominated this season, winning 23 of their previous 24 games. McNeese can win this game outright if they can limit Smith and Kaufman’s production.
College Basketball Pick: McNeese +5.5
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