Purdue and Grambling square off in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 21, 2024 3:23 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Grambling Tigers (21-14, 17-4 SWAC) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (29-4, 18-4 Big Ten)

Indianapolis; Friday, 7:25 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Boilermakers -26; over/under is 139

BOTTOM LINE: No. 3 Purdue faces Grambling in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers have gone 18-4 against Big Ten opponents, with an 11-0 record in non-conference play. Purdue ranks eighth in the Big Ten at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 70.2 points while holding opponents to 41.9% shooting.

The Tigers are 17-4 against SWAC opponents. Grambling ranks second in the SWAC scoring 32.1 points per game in the paint led by Jalen Johnson averaging 5.0.

Purdue makes 48.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.3 percentage points higher than Grambling has allowed to its opponents (43.5%). Grambling has shot at a 44.2% clip from the field this season, 2.3 percentage points above the 41.9% shooting opponents of Purdue have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Zach Edey is scoring 24.4 points per game and averaging 11.7 rebounds for the Boilermakers. Mason Gillis is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Tra'Michael Moton averages 1.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Tigers, scoring 11.6 points while shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc. Jourdan Smith is shooting 53.8% and averaging 13.5 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 8-2, averaging 78.9 points, 38.8 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.5 points per game.

Tigers: 9-1, averaging 73.2 points, 34.0 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.