The Purdue Boilermakers (23-11) will face the McNeese Cowboys (28-6) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Providence, RI.
The No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, Purdue secured a 75-63 victory over High Point Thursday in their opening round game. Braden Smith, a first-team All-American, led the team with 21 points. The No. 12 seed, McNeese has now won 12 in a row following their historic 69-67 win over Clemson in the first round, marking their first NCAA Tournament victory.
At one end, this game pits the tenacious and ball-hawking defense of McNeese against the efficient offense of Purdue and the board-crashing McNeese offense against the often-leaky interior defense of Purdue.
The winner of this game earns an invite to the Sweet 16 and a date with the winner of the Houston vs. Gonzaga game.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch McNeese State vs. Purdue
- Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
- Time: 12:10PM EST
- Site: The AMP
- City: Providence, RI
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for McNeese State vs. Purdue
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: McNeese State Cowboys (+200), Purdue Boilermakers (-250)
- Spread: Boilermakers -5.5
- Total: 143.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for McNeese State vs. Purdue
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s Cowboys & Boilermakers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play ATS on McNeese State +5.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total UNDER 143.5.
McNeese State vs. Purdue: Top betting trends and recent stats
- McNeese State has covered the spread in 3 of their last 4 games including their Round 1 win over Clemson
- Purdue covered the spread in Round 1 for the first time in their last 4 games
- The Boilermakers are 5-4 to the OVER in their last 9 games
- These schools met previously in 2016 with Purdue rolling to a 109-65 win
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
