Tennessee vs. Purdue Betting Odds: Opening Point Spread for NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16

#2 Tennessee vs. #3 Purdue: NCAA Tournament Betting Odds

• Spread: Tennessee -1
• Over/Under: 146
• Date: Thursday, March 28
• Time: 7:29 p.m. ET
• Location: Louisville, Kentucky
• TV: TBD

Tennessee barely survived an overtime thriller against Iowa in Round 2. Now the Vols will face Carsen Ewards and the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 on Thursday as a 1-point favorite.

Get breakdowns of each team’s profile, plus Sean Koerner’s projected spread and over/under, below.

Purdue's Statistical Profile

Purdue boasts a slow, but efficient offense that ranks 226th in the country in KenPom's Adjusted Tempo, but fifth overall in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency.

Carsen Edwards is the team's most potent weapon, averaging 23.4 ppg, including a stellar 84.2% from the free throw line. However, after Edwards, Ryan Cline is the lone remaining player scoring in double-digits (11.8 ppg).

The Boilermakers did themselves no favors in the Big Ten Tournament semfinals, struggling to a two-point loss against Minnesota despite closing as 10 point favorites. — PJ Walsh

• Record: 23-9
• Adj. Efficiency Rank: 10
• Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 5
• Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 31
• Tempo Rank: 279

All advanced metrics via KenPom as of Friday, March 15

Tennessee's Statistical Profile

Tennessee finished the regular season as the top team in the SEC according to KenPom, just ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats. However, the Vols did not finish as strong as coach Rick Barnes would have preferred.

Barnes' squad got hammered by Kentucky on the road, 86-69, starting a stretch in which the team lost three of its final seven games, albeit those losses came in tough road matchups against Kentucky, LSU and Auburn.

The Vols did win the key rubber match against the Wildcats in the seminfinals of the SEC Tournament, but suffered a huge letdown in Sunday's championship game in a disastrous 20-point loss to Auburn. — PJ Walsh

• Record: 29-5
• Adj. Efficiency Rank: 7
• Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 3
• Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 30
• Tempo Rank: 157

All advanced metrics via KenPom as of Friday, March 15

Sean Koerner's Tennessee-Purdue Projections

Get point spreads for this game and every possible tournament matchup with our bracket simulator built by Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, a former oddsmaker and FantasyPros' most accurate in-season fantasy football ranker from 2015-2017.

• Spread: Tennessee -1.5
• Total: 145.5
• Proj Score: Tennessee 73.5 | Purdue 72
• Win Probability: Tennessee 53.1% | Purdue 46.9%