From 68 to 16: March Madness 2017 First Weekend Primer

11 of 17

Mar 5, 2017; Evanston, IL, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Caleb Swanigan (50) enters the court during player introductions prior to a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Boilermakers won 69-65. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

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.

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