The Purdue Boilermakers and Grambling State Tigers face off in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Purdue has been one of the most consistent teams in college basketball this year and center Zach Eden has been giving opposing teams fits all season. On the other side, Grambling State started the season 2-10 but has only gotten stronger down the stretch, including an overtime comeback thriller in their First Four win over Montana State on Wednesday night. Can Purdue exorcise their demons and gain the edge in this Purdue vs Grambling State prediction?
Below, we will preview this NCAA Tournament college basketball game, giving a Purdue vs Grambling State prediction and other March Madness expert picks. Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
Purdue vs Grambling State Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2024 NCAA Tournament
No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (29-4) vs. No. 16 Grambling State Tigers (21-14)
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 7:25 PM EST
Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse — Indianapolis, IN
Coverage: TBS
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Purdue vs Grambling State March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Purdue vs Grambling State can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: PUR: (-9000) | GRAM: (+2500)
Point Spread: PUR: -24.5 (-110) | GRAM: +24.5 (-110)
Total: 140.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Purdue | 3 | 125.0 (4) | 95.9 (21) | 67.4 (176) |
| Grambling State | 267 | 99.2 (297) | 107.1 (197) | 64.8 (316) |
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Purdue vs Grambling State College Basketball Trends
- Purdue is 12-1 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- Grambling State is 7-10 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 22-11 in Purdue basketball games this season.
- The UNDER is 16-15 in Grambling State basketball games this season.
- Purdue is 2-3 in NCAA Tournament games since 2021.
- Grambling State is 1-0 in NCAA Tournament games in school history.
Purdue vs Grambling State Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
Purdue has heard the noise all year. After being embarrassed in the first round by Farleigh Dickinson last year, the Boilermakers could’ve folded. Instead, they put together one of their best seasons in program history. Center Zach Edey is playing even better than last year and he’s getting help this year. Braden Smith, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer are all averaging over 10 points per game and helping Purdue be less one-dimensional than last year’s team.
Grambling State is not to be messed with. The formula to beat Purdue is to either get Edey in foul trouble or get him outside of the paint. The Tigers will certainly get him out of the paint and can knock down shots too. Down the stretch against Montana State, Jimel Cofer took over, scoring 19 points on 7/9 shooting from the field. The Tigers may have started 2-10, but they have now gone 19-4 over their last 23 games with one of those losses coming in double overtime and the other by just two points. If the Tigers can shoot like they did against Montana State (50% from the field and 40% form deep) they could just shock the world.
Even if Purdue wasn’t the 1-seed in this game, Grambling State would be a formidable foe. This team is deep, has nothing to lose, and is relentless. With that said, everything will need to go right for them to be able to do the impossible again. They may cover the spread, but it would be incredibly optimistic to believe they can do much more. For our Purdue vs Grambling State prediction, we are picking the Purdue Boilermakers to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
