Pod #2 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| Colors | Location | Record | RPI | ||
| #4 | Purdue Boilermakers | Black, Old Gold | West Lafayette, IN | 25-7 | 20 |
| #5 | Iowa State Cyclones | Cardinal, Gold | Ames, IA | 23-10 | 22 |
| #12 | Nevada Wolf Pack | Navy, Silver | Reno, NV | 28-6 | 29 |
| #13 | Vermont Catamounts | Green, Gold | Burlington, VT | 29-5 | 46 |
#4 Purdue vs. #13 Vermont — Thursday, 7:27 p.m., truTV
Line: Purdue (-9)
FiveThirtyEight: Purdue (86%)
Vermont enters the tournament on a 21-game winning streak and undefeated in conference. The Catamounts have a cool nickname, play good defense and generally look like a team that could pull off an upset. Purdue has Caleb Swanigan, who averages an amazing 18.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game by himself and has 26 double-doubles this season, not to mention Isaac Haas and Vince Edwards. To win, Vermont must find a way to negate Purdue’s advantage in the paint.
#5 Iowa State vs. #12 Nevada — Thursday, 9:57 p.m., truTV
Line: Iowa State (-6.5)
FiveThirtyEight: Iowa State (83%)
Iowa State lost ten games against a tough schedule, but won nine of their last ten and won the Big 12 tournament. They shoot 40.2% from beyond the arc, score 80.9 points per game and four of their players average at least 12 points per game. Nevada won a depleted Mountain West, winning their last nine games and winning both the regular season and tournament titles. They can also score, boasting five guys who score 12 points a game, led by Marcus Mitchell’s 19.8, and they also rebound well, averaging 39 boards per game.
Second Round Outlook
It’s a shame that Vermont got such a bad first round draw. If they can find a way to beat Purdue, they could be a surprise Sweet 16 team. As it is, this pod is pretty open and whoever wins it could make a run if they can get past Kansas. Purdue is probably the favorite here and might be a trendy pick, although Iowa State is playing good basketball and can stretch Purdue with outside shooting and Nevada both shoots and rebounds well.