The No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers (29-5, 18-5 Big 10) face the No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (20-15, 12-7 NEC) Friday at Nationwide Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Fairleigh Dickinson dominated the Texas Southern Tigers 84-61 at University of Dayton Arena on Wednesday in the First Four.
Ansley Almonor led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds. Purdue won their fifth in a row in a close one in the Big Ten Tourney Championship on Sunday at United Center, beating the Penn State Nittany Lions 67-65. Zach Edey had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the team.
Demetre Roberts (16.6 ppg), Grant Singleton (14.3), and Almonor (14.1) have led the Knights in scoring this season. Almonor also has grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game, while Roberts has dished 4.3 assists per game. Edey has powered the Boilermakers’ offense, averaging 21.6 points per game. He ranks as the 10th-highest scorer in the nation.
Edey also has averaged 12.4 rebounds per game, second-most in the country. Braden Smith has tallied 4.3 assists per game. The Boilermakers rank as one of the stingiest scoring defenses in the country, 21st-best with 62.7 points per game allowed.
In the last 10 games, Fairleigh Dickinson is 6-4 with an average margin of +6.4 (76.6-70.2). For the season, the Knights are averaging 78.0 points per game, compared to 74.5 for opponents.
Purdue has a 7-3 record over the last 10, scoring 70.8 points per game on average while allowing 66.7 (+4.1 margin). The Boilermakers are averaging 73.1 ppg for the full season while allowing 62.7.
KNIGHTS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Sean Moore: 17.8 | 12.1 | +5.7
Sebastien Lamaute: 0.5 | 7.5 | -7.0
Points per game:
Heru Bligen: 3.0 | 7.3 | -4.3
BOILERMAKERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Brandon Newman: 16.8 | 10.3 | +6.5
Fletcher Loyer: 9.2 | 15.1 | -5.9
Points per game:
Brandon Newman: 9.2 | 6.1 | +3.1
Fletcher Loyer: 5.6 | 10.9 | -5.3
Rebounds per game:
Caleb Furst: 2.6 | 4.7 | -2.1
Assists per game:
Ethan Morton: 1.2 | 2.5 | -1.3
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Purdue -22.5 (-115)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our college basketball hub page for all your college basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
