On Friday, Houston has a challenging game against the Purdue Boilermakers. Consider that Purdue will have plenty of fan support at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is less than 70 miles away from campus. The Houston Cougars are in a legitimate March Madness lines position to make their first Final Four since 2021. Head coach Kelvin Sampson has transformed the program into what fans, gamblers, and donors always expected it to be. Since 2021, Sampson has led UH to the Sweet Sixteen every year. The Cougars do things the old-fashioned way with the best defense in college hoops.
2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Friday Purdue Boilermakers vs. Houston Cougars
| Date and Time: | Friday, March 28, 2025, 10:09 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN |
| TV Coverage: | TBS |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | +8 -110 | 132½ -108 | +310 |  |
| Houston | -8 -110 | 132½ -112 | -380 | |
| ||||
Purdue Boilermakers Team Overview
Late on, Purdue has covered four of its previous seven games and has gone under the sports betting total in three of its last four outings. Trey Kaufman-Renn is the first among Purdue scorers with 20.3 points per game.
Overall, the Purdue Boilermakers are 23-11 straight up, 17-14 against the spread, and 18-12-1 over/under the total. Purdue has national metrics of 80th for scoring offense, 12th for field goal percentage, 16th for 3-point field goal percentage, 141st for free throw percentage, and 314th for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Purdue is 151st for scoring defense, 270th for field goal percentage permitted, 29th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 41st for defensive rebounding.
Houston Cougars Team Overview
Late on, Houston has covered three of its previous four games and gone over the NCAA Tournament odds total in three of its last four outings. First among Houston scorers is L.J. Cryer, with 15.6 points per game.
Overall, the Houston Cougars are 31-4 straight up, 16-14-1 against the spread, and 14-17 over/under the total. Houston has national metrics of 165th for scoring offense, 119th for field goal percentage, 4th for 3-point field goal percentage, 111th for free throw percentage, and 143rd for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Houston is 1st for scoring defense, 4th for field goal percentage permitted, 40th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 8th for defensive rebounding.
Namely, LJ Cryer made six 3-pointers and matched his career high of 30 points as top-seeded Houston earned its sixth straight Sweet 16 berth with an 81-76 victory over No. 8 Gonzaga. The Cougars’ Ja’Vier Francis blocked the 3-point shot of the Bulldogs’ Khalif Battle with under three seconds left. Hence, Houston led by three. Milos Uzan then sank two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to seal the victory.
To summarize, J’Wan Roberts added 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Cougars. Also, Emanuel Sharp had 12 points, and Joseph Tugler contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds. Houston won its 15th straight game and 28th in its past 29.
Graham Ike scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half for Gonzaga. In turn, the Bulldogs came up short in its bid for a 10th straight Sweet 16 appearance. Battle added 17 points and six boards, Braden Huff scored 11, and Ryan Nembhard added 10 points and 11 assists for the Bulldogs.
Purdue vs. Houston SBG Free Picks
In this situation, Houston’s defense and experience should be the difference.
Purdue vs. Houston SBG Best Bet: Houston Cougars.