The Purdue Boilermakers are arguably the weakest of the top teams, but they’ll get one of the play-in game winners to open the tournament. The No. 1 Boilermakers will face the winner of the No. 16 play-in game between the Montana State Bobcats and the Grambling State Tigers. The game will tip on Friday in Indianapolis. The game time and TV channel are still TBD.
No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers
NET: 3
KenPom Overall: 3
KenPom O: 3
KenPom D: 21
Record: 29-4
Strength of Schedule: 4
Conference: Big Ten
Conference Record: 17-3
Quad 1 Record: 12-4
Purdue is back again after becoming just the second No. 1 seed in history to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Matt Painter’s Boilermakers, led once again by Zach Edey, are looking to overcome last year’s early exit against Fairleigh Dickinson. Edey is still the sun around which the team orbits, leading Purdue in points per game (24.2) and rebounds per game (11.7).
The Boilermakers’ next two highest scorers combine to average just over 25 points per game, effectively matching Edey’s production. Has Purdue changed its tune enough to get past the struggles that popped up in 2023? The team averaged 84.2 points per game during the regular season (9th in the nation) and grabbed 40.3 rebounds per game (7th in the nation). They fell to Wisconsin in the semifinal of the Big Ten Tournament, taking the Badgers to overtime before losing by one point.
No. 16 Grambling State Tigers
Grambling State
NET: 279
KenPom Overall: 267
KenPom O: 298
KenPom D: 196
Record: 20-14
Strength of Schedule: 316
Conference: SWAC
Conference Record: 14-4
Quad 1 Record: 0-6
First Four: Defeated Montana State 88-81 (OT)
Grambling State is in the NCAA Tournament for the very first time at the Division I level, winning the SWAC Tournament after falling short in the title game last season. The Tigers cruised through the regular season conference slate to earn the No. 1 seed in the league tourney and ultimately put down Texas Southern in the title game to punch its ticket.
Head coach Donte Jackson earned SWAC Coach of the Year honors and his primary weapon is junior guard Kintavious Dozier. He put up 13.1 points per game and was helped in the starting lineup by Tra’Michael Moton and Antwan Burnett.
2024 March Madness: No. 16 Montana State/Grambling State vs. No. 1 Purdue odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Purdue -26
Over/Under: 140.5
Moneyline: Purdue -20000, Grambling +8000