The Midwest Region is a winnable one.
The Midwest Region is a winnable one; in my opinion, of the four regions, it has the weakest one- and two-seeds.
Houston, who has it rolling under Coach Sampson, has their clear deficiencies, at times they struggle mightily on offense, where they hang their hat is on the defensive side of the court, limiting opponents to easy baskets.
Is there any other 2 seed Purdue fans would LOVE to see than the Volunteers? Purdue has handled them in Holiday Tournaments, March Madness, hell, even in football Tennessee lost to Purdue.
While the top two seeds are not great, this region has two Cinderella picks that everyone just seems to love.
Everyone loves McNeese State. The 12 seed led by Coach Will Wade will try and upset a veteran laden Clemson Tigers team. Clemson is -7.5 as it currently stands, the pace is expected to be slow as the over/under is set at just 134.5, I personally love the over.
You can see all March Madness odds over at FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Timing
- 3/20 – 3/23
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How to Play
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- Lowest seed = Higher number (16, 15, 14, 13, etc.)
Clemson is coming off a run to the Elite 8, there were rumors their head coach may head to IU, but that did not come to fruition.
The other popular upset pick, sadly, is High Point over Purdue. The Boilers are also -7.5 favorites. This game should be a much different pace than the aforementioned Clemson and McNeese State Game, as the over/under is set at 153.5.
The Boilers do not necessarily run up and down the court, but their effective post centric offense has led them to average 78 points per game. High Point loves getting up and down the court, they average 83 points per game, and love to try and force turnovers to run the fast break.
If Purdue survives High Point, they will play either Clemson or McNeese, so the round of 32 is no walk in the park either.
Many like the Kentucky Wildcats to make a run to the final four. They are full of veterans and high ranked underclassmen and certainly have a chance to make a run, but they have been the definition of up and down on the season.
If Purdue gets through the first weekend, they will likely see Houston in the Sweet 16, where Purdue would be underdogs on the betting line, but, I like the chances of the Boilermakers pulling an upset against a team that is balanced across the board, but does not have superstar power by any means.
A likely rematch with Tennessee would occur if Purdue got through the S16, who have won ugly all season long, something Purdue has not done a lot of, but with the success of Purdue against Tennessee, I like the chances of the Boilermakers.
Duke would be standing in the final four, more than likely, a behemoth of a team this year and if this were to happen, it would be a reunion between Purdue and Mason Gillis, who was a gritty five year player for Coach Painter before using his Covid Year at Duke.
There is no lock Purdue makes it that far, two of the favorite upsets picks could stand in their way, many veteran led teams with 5th and 6th year players also stand in their way.
But, wouldn’t it be something if this version of Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers marched their way into the Final Four again.