Posted at 1:45 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +7 -112 BET365 +7 -110  Sportsinteraction  +7 -110  888Sport  +7 -110

Purdue +7 over UConn

State Farm Stadium - Glendale, AZ

Men's Basketball Championship - National Championship

Streaming: TBS

9:20 PM EST. The college hoops season ends tonight in the desert, as the Boilermakers of Purdue face the defending National Champion Huskies of UConn. Both of these teams were the #1 teams in their respective regions, and both have finished #1 and #2 in the power rankings, with the Huskies getting the slight edge on that list. As for how UConn got here, last year’s champs ran through #16 Stetson in Round 1, 91-52, #9 Northwestern in the Round of 32, 75-58, #5 San Diego State, 82-52, #3 Illinois, 77-52, and #4 Alabama, 86-72.

In summary, the Huskies have run roughshod over everyone they have played, and they have left oddsmakers in a precarious position of not only having to pay out like a broken slot machine after every game, but UConn is also the biggest liability for the books, as they have taken by far more action than any other team in the tournament. Yet, despite all of that, the oddsmakers have hung what looks like a very beatable number on this game, and the market has pounced with nearly all the action coming in on the Huskies.

Purdue does not have the pedigree of UConn, nor do they have a trophy case loaded with National Championships. Instead, the Boilermakers have been perennial underachievers in the NCAA Tournament, that is until this year. Purdue’s path to this final game went through #16 Grambling in Round 1, 78-50, #8 Utah State, 106-67, #5 Gonzaga, 80-68, #2 Tennessee, 76-66, and #11 NC State, 63-50. While they did dominate along the way, the Boilermakers were battle-tested in their games versus the Zags, Tennessee, and NC State, which should serve them well here if the chips are down.

To further just how iron sharpens iron, the Boilermakers played the second most difficult schedule in the nation as the Big Ten (B1G) was a meat grinder, but they also tested themselves against the ninth most difficult non-conference schedule (by contrast the Huskies played a much weaker slate that ranks 283-of-362 Division I program), which has seen them win 10 straight games against nationally ranked teams this year. Moreover, the Boilermakers have won 22 straight games against non-conference-ranked and Power Six sides. Purdue plays up to their competition, which as an underdog, is a strong quality to have. While it is tempting to take the Boilermakers straight up here, the points being offered up here are quite generous, and we are more than content to put them in our pockets just in case.

Sherwood

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