Purdue Boilermakers vs Tennessee Volunteers Point Spread Picks

Purdue erased a nine-point deficit and beat Tennessee 71-67 at the Maui Invitational in November and now the Volunteers get a chance for payback in a more important game as they meet in the Elite Eight. Neither team shot better than 35 percent in that game, but Tennessee hit 11 of 24 3-pointers on Friday night and defeated Creighton 82-75. Dalton Knecht had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals and Zakai Zeigler added 18 points for the Volunteers, who are 3-0-1 ATS their past four NCAA Tournament games as underdogs. Purdue rode Zach Edey's 27 points and Gonzaga's eventual foul trouble to win 80-68. The Boilermakers shot 57 percent, which is about eight percentage points above their average. However, Tennessee led the SEC defensively allowing only 67.3 points per game and it was second in opponent field goal percentage at .388. Take Tennessee ATS as a Max Play.

Purdue's dominating win over Villanova was the fifth cover in the last seven games for the Boilermakers, who are 19-14-1 ATS on the season. Carsen Edwards exploded for 42 points and Matt Haarms added 18 points and nine rebounds and the Boilermakers shot 54 percent and held the Wildcats to only 34 percent from the field. Tennessee blew a 25-point lead before beating Iowa as Grant Williams came through in overtime and he and Admiral Schofield finished with 19 points apiece and the Hawkeyes were held to a .390 field goal percentage. The Volunteers can't afford another meltdown versus Purdue, which won its first two games of the tournament by an average of 19.5 points. Tennessee has not covered the number its last three games overall and that includes a 20-point loss to Auburn in the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers are just 4-9 ATS their last 13 games and the Boilermakers are 40-19 ATS their last 59 non-conference games. Play Purdue.