Texas vs Purdue Predictions, Odds, Picks

• The Texas Longhorns are coming off an 81-73 victory against Virginia Tech Hokies in the First Round of March Madness.
• The Purdue Boilermakers crushed the Yale Bulldogs 78-56 in their First Round of March Madness.
• Texas beat Purdue 70-66 when they last faced each other.

Texas Longhorns vs Purdue Boilermakers Odds

Odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook

The Texas Longhorns will face the tough Purdue Boilermakers in this Second Round battle. Texas just barely beat Purdue 70-66 the last time they went up against each other.

The Texas Longhorns played very well against non-conference opponents this season. They went 12-3, with two of their losses coming against ranked opponents. Even though they started the season well, they struggled in the very difficult Big 12 and went 10-8.

Texas is not a strong offensive team. They only score 68.3 points per game and have just three players barely scoring over ten points a game.

They are led by Timmy Allen. Allen is an offensively and defensively minded forward. He averages 12.4 points a game and gets 1.3 steals. Allen does not shoot well from deep but hits 50% of his total shots.

A lot of Texas’ very limited scoring comes from their backcourt duo of Andrews Jones and Marcus Carr. Jones and Carr combine for 22.1 points per game and also rack together 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals. Separately, they are good individual players, but together, they make an efficient duo.

Texas’ real strength is on the defensive side. They have the best defense in the Power Five conferences and only give up 60 points per game.

The Purdue Boilermakers spent some time as a top-five team, but after a few late-season conference losses, they slipped to #10 in the nation. They have shown at times that they can be a top team, but have also shown that they can become complacent and lose to lesser opponents.

Purdue is led by the guard-center duo of Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey. Ivey leads the team and scoring and can pass a little bit, while Edey is an extremely efficient shooter and solid rebounder. They combine for 32.2 points and 12.7 rebounds a game.

Since Purdue has shown they can be a top team in the league and score almost 80 points a game, I am picking them to win this battle and move on to the Sweet 16.

Pick:

Purdue beats Texas 73-65. Purdue cover, Over 133.5 points.

Head-to-Head: Texas Longhorns vs Purdue Boilermakers

Why Might the Texas Longhorns Win?

Everyone knows that Texas has a dominant defense. However, their offense is often suspect and struggles to score. Texas needs to hit three-pointers and protect the rim to win this game.

Texas does not shoot horribly from deep, but they could do a lot better. They hit 32.3% of their three-point attempts and only have one player in their rotation (Brock Cunningham) hitting over 40% of their threes. They need to mentally prepare and knock down their three-point attempts in this game. It should not be too difficult for them to take threes; they average over 15 three-point attempts a game.

Texas is a better defensive team than Purdue, but they are also smaller. They have to protect the rim and not let center Zach Edey dominate them with close shots. Edey shoots over 65% from the field, so Texas has to slow him down.

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Why Might the Purdue Boilermakers Win?

Purdue may be the better team, but they are facing a Texas squad with one of the best defenses in the country. Since that is the case, they need to attack the rim and get offensive rebounds.

As I have mentioned many times before, Texas has a great defense. However, Purdue has one of the best guards in the country in Jaden Ivey and one of the best centers in Zach Edey. They both need to score at the rim and use their size to bully this smaller Texas team.

Purdue averages almost 11 offensive rebounds per game. They need to continue being aggressive on the offensive glass and grab offensive boards. If they do, they will create more scoring opportunities for themselves.

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Longhorns Key Player: (F) Timmy Allen

Timmy Allen has become the de facto star for Texas. He averages 12.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in a little over 29 minutes.

Allen shoots well and hits half of his shots. He needs to continue shooting well in this game, but he also needs to play lockdown defense and help to slow down Zach Edey.

Boilermakers Key Player: (G) Jaden Ivey

There is a reason Jaden Ivey is a likely NBA Lottery pick in the upcoming draft. He is an electric scorer and can also pass and grab rebounds.

Ivey averages 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals. He is very versatile and can do a little bit of everything. He needs to continue being versatile in this game. On offense, he has to draw the defense in and shoot or pass to an open teammate, and on defense, he needs to lock down the opposing guard.

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