In this heavyweight Sweet 16 game in the Midwest region, we have a Houston vs Purdue matchup that sees two former rival coaches face off again. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson is looking for his first Elite Eight appearance since 2022 while Purdue’s Matt Painter is looking for his second straight Elite Eight appearance.
Below, we will preview this Sweet 16 college basketball game, giving the Houston vs Purdue overview, trends and our expert pick! Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
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Houston vs Purdue Prediction and Sweet 16 Expert Picks
2025 NCAA Tournament
No. 1 Houston Cougars (32-4) vs. No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers (24-11)
Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
Time: 10:09 PM EST
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
Coverage: TBS/TruTV
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Houston vs Purdue Sweet 16 Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Houston vs Purdue can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: HOU: (-395) | PUR: (+300)
Point Spread: HOU: -8.5 (-105) | PUR: +8.5 (-115)
Total: 132.5 — Over: (-105) | Under: (-115)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Houston | 2 | 123.9 (10) | 88.0 (1) | 61.6 (360) |
| Purdue | 16 | 124.4 (7) | 99.6 (55) | 65.1 (299) |
Houston vs Purdue College Basketball Trends
- Houston is 5-0 in its last five games.
- Purdue is 3-2 in its last five games.
- Houston is 13-3 in non-conference play this season.
- Purdue is 11-4 in non-conference play this season.
- Houston has given up 75 or more points just four times this season.
- Purdue is 6-7 when they’ve allowed 75 or more points this season.
Houston vs Purdue Prediction | Sweet 16 Expert Picks
For any fans that like good, fundamental basketball, this is the game for you. Head coaches Kelvin Sampson and Matt Painter are easily two of the best college basketball coaches in the country and have been throughout their tenure at the college level. These two coaches do have a brief history as well as during his brief stint at Indiana, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson was 2-1 against Painter’s Boilermakers.
This will be a slow game in terms of pace, as both teams place more emphasis on the quality of looks than the quantity of looks. Both teams have elite offenses as well, with the main differentiator being defense. While Purdue’s defense certainly isn’t bad, it is nowhere near Houston’s, which ranks first in the nation. While the quality of competition is sometimes questioned for Houston in a down year for the Big 12, they held elite Auburn and Alabama offenses to just 74 and 78 points in regulation, respectively.
Unlike Purdue, Houston has already had a big test in their 81-76 win over Gonzaga last round while Purdue has skated by against inferior opposition. It’s hard to flip the switch when the competition levels up, and the Boilermakers were just 3-6 in their last nine Big Ten games prior to the tournament. That cold spell includes a home loss to Wisconsin and blowout losses to Indiana and Michigan.
For our Houston vs Purdue prediction, we are picking the Houston Cougars to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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