Arizona vs Purdue Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament Elite Eight

Arizona vs Purdue Game Preview: A No. 1 Battle For the West Regional Final

Arizona vs Purdue How To Watch

Date: Saturday, March 28
Venue: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, CA
Time: 8:49 pm ET
TV: TBS/truTV
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (1) Arizona 35-2, (2) Purdue 30-8

Football Series History: Purdue leads 3-0
- 2017 Purdue 38, Arizona 35 (Foster Farms Bowl)
- 2005 Purdue 31, Arizona 24
- 2003 Purdue 59, Arizona 7

NCAA Tournament Results
Arizona: 1st Round LIU 92-58 | 2nd Round Utah State 78-66 | Sweet 16 Arkansas 109-88

Purdue: 1st Round Queens 104-71 | 2nd Round Miami 79-69 | Sweet 16 Texas 79-77

- CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews

Key Stats

- Arizona shot 64% from the floor in the win over Arkansas and was 63% from three.

- Purdue hit 15-of-20 free throws (75%), and Texas hit 8-of-15 (53%) - and the Boilermakers won by two.

Why Purdue Will Win: The Boilermakers Will Play Defense

Purdue will pose a significantly tougher challenge for Arizona than an Arkansas defense that played like it had four guys on defense.

The Wildcats are loaded with a combination of NBA talent, bulk, toughness, and attitude. To get past all that, it’ll take a team that has experience, a rock-solid backcourt, and the size to handle the plays in the interior that worked over and over and over again against the Hogs.

Purdue has all of that, and it starts with its four seniors who have seen it all.

Oscar Cluff scored ten points with eight rebounds against Purdue. He’s 6-11, 6-9 Trey Kaufman-Renn is a slippery rebounder, and everyone else attacks the glass and can pack it in.

Braden Smith - the NCAA’s new all-time assist leader - was a little off, but he and the rest of the backcourt can move around well on the Wildcat defense that took things up a few notches over the last several games.

Hitting threes will help. Arkansas got knocked out early by the Wildcats after not making anything from the outside. Purdue was No. 1 in the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage, and beat Texas despite hitting just 20% from the outside.

Why Arizona Will Win: Use the Balance and All the Parts

Yeah, Purdue is experienced, has the size, the efficiency, and the toughness. It doesn’t have the talent and depth of the scary-deep Wildcats.

Six Arizona players came up with double-digit points against Arkansas, with Brayden Burries hitting from outside, Motiejus Krivas hitting everything inside, Koa Peat and Tobe Awaka powering their way to points, and Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley doing a little of everything else.

Attack, overwhelm, and be relentless - that’s been Arizona all season, and it’s been laser-focused.

Arizona vs Purdue Prediction, Betting Lines

There’s no chance Arizona is as hot against Purdue as it was against Arkansas, and it’ll be the easy pick by everyone to assume the top seed in the West will waltz into the Final Four.

Purdue will step up its game.

It came up with a win over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. It blew out Nebraska, took down UCLA, and had no real issues with Miami before putting away Texas. This is a veteran team that was No. 1 in the nation to start the season, and it’ll be a nasty out for Arizona.

The Wildcats will get the scoring balance to get out alive - it’ll have a tough time putting the game away - with a final score that’s far worse than the game itself.

Prediction: Arizona 81, Purdue 73
Consensus Line: Arizona -6.5, o/u: 151.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.