2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for McNeese vs. Purdue

While we didn't see any huge surprises on Thursday, the McNeese Cowboys pulled off the traditional 12-versus-5 upset over the Clemson Tigers. They'll face the Purdue Boilermakers, a 4 seed that won its first-round matchup by double digits over the High Point Panthers. McNeese and Purdue open up Saturday's second-round action at 12:10 pm ET.

To see thoughts on other games, check out our full men's college basketball tournament predictions page. But for McNeese vs. Purdue, here are my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds.

Betting Picks for McNeese vs. Purdue

Purdue -5.5 (-110)

As the better seed, Purdue is predictably the favorite and rates out far better than McNeese on Bart Torvik and KenPom. The Boilermakers rank inside the top 20 on both sites, whereas the Cowboys barely crack the top 60.

Per Bart Torvik, the two teams possess roughly top-70 adjusted defenses, but where they diverge is on offense. Purdue is 8th in adjusted offensive efficiency while McNeese comes in at 58th. Most notably, the Boilermakers rank 16th in effective field goal percentage due in large part to them owning the country's 11th-best three-point percentage.

Purdue's long-range accuracy will be especially problematic for McNeese. That's because the Cowboys do little to stop opposing teams from shooting beyond the arc, ranking a miserable 352nd out of 364 teams in three-point rate allowed.

In the first round, McNeese held Clemson to a mere 13 points, which was a combination of abysmal shooting by the Tigers and the Cowboys playing 2-3 zone for the first time all year. And yet, even with that defensive strategy working out brilliantly, McNeese would ultimately win by just two points.

With McNeese already pulling out that trump card, Purdue is unlikely to be caught off guard, and their superior offense should shine through. Bart Torvik projects the Boilermakers to cover this spread, as well.

Braden Smith Over 17.5 Points (-110)

Given that McNeese bleeds three-pointers like crazy, Purdue's second-leading scorer, Braden Smith, should be plenty busy on Saturday.

Smith averages the team's most three-point attempts per game (6.1) with a solid 38.6% three-point percentage, helping him average 17.6 points per 40 minutes.

Well, 40 minutes is pretty much what we should expect from Smith, who rarely leaves the floor outside of blowouts.

He's logged 39-40 minutes in 10 of the last 13 games, including each of his last 4 outings. He's scored 18+ points in 7 of those 10 games with 39+ minutes, and in a win-or-go-home matchup, it would take a truly lopsided score for him to see reduced playing time.

You can also download our FREE college basketball printable bracket.

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Which bets stand out to you for today's games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest men's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.