NCAAB – Purdue Boilermakers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats: Preview and Prediction
7:10 PM ET, March 19, 2015
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
March Madness starts to get really crazy today with 16 games scheduled, including No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats (22-10, 15-13-0 ATS) matching up against No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers (21-12, 20-10-0 ATS) at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The winner will likely set up a meeting with No. 1 seed Kentucky in the next round.
“Agents using bookie software” currently have Cincinnati 2-point favorites with the total at 117½. The moneyline has Cincinnati paying -130 with Purdue at +110. Bettors using sites for local bookies putting action on the number know Cincinnati has gone 11-13 against the total while Purdue is 10-18.
Although these teams are very similar, with a slow tempo offense with an emphasis on setting the defensive tone on the inside, these teams barely know each other. Since December 2001, the Boilermakers and Bearcats have only played twice, with the Bearcats winning both.
Both teams come into this one having lost their last game; Cincinnati last played on Friday as 1.5-point favorites on the road against Connecticut losing 57-54 on a last second 3-pointer off the hands of Ryan Boatright. Boatright led all players with 18 points and added 3 rebounds and 4 assists while Rodney Purvis helped his team with 17 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and a steal.
Cincinnati were led in the losing effort by Troy Caupain with 12 points and pitched in with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Gary Clark led all players with 11 rebounds and added 9 points an assist and a block.
Pay Per Head agents saw Purdue last play on Saturday in Chicago against the 30-3 Wisconsin Badgers, losing 71-51 as a 9.5-point dog. Wisconsin were led by Bronson Koenig with 19 points and got 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists from Sam Dekker.
The Boilermakers were led in the loss by their season scoring leader, 7-foot center, A.J. Hammons with 10 points with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Hammons led Purdue this year with averages of 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.5 steals per game.
If you are placing action on tonight’s game using sites for local bookies, you should know that both teams are 6-4 in their last 10, with the Boilermakers 10-4 SU and ATS in their last 14 games. The Bearcats are 5-1 SU and ATS in their last 6, with the total going UNDER in 6 of their last 8, with 4 of the Boilermakers last 6 finishing UNDER.
This is Purdue’s first trip to the tournament in three years, while Cincinnati are here for their 5th year in a row. Expect Cincinnati’s experience to help them come out firing on all cylinders early, while Purdue will struggle with some early butterflies.
Purdue’s work in the paint will keep them in this one, with a race to 55 most likely deciding the winner. A.J. Hammons will be the best player on the court tonight, and will help Purdue pull off the upset win.
Prediction: Purdue Boilermakers 59 – Cincinnati Bearcats 56
Coverage: CBS
Written by: R Keough
