2010 March Madness Purdue vs. Duke Picks & Predictions

Last Updated on March 26, 2010 6:00 pm by drew

Duke-Purdue Pick

Duke looks to reach its first Elite Eight since 2004 on Friday at 9:57PM ET when the Blue Devils take on Purdue.

Bet March Madness
This contest is part of the South Regional and will take place from the Reliant Stadium in

Houston,
Texas.
Duke is the No. 1 seed while Purdue is the No. 4 seed.

Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made
Duke 8.5-point favorites over

Purdue on Friday night. The over/under has been set at 127.

Duke is seeking its 18^th Elite Eight appearance in school history with a win. The Blue Devils have won their last six games including a 73-44 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their tournament opener and a 68-53 win over

California in the second round. Duke held

Cal to 39.6 percent shooting in the contest while the Blue Devils shot 47.4 percent themselves. Brian Zoubek had 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead Duke while Nolan Smith had 20 points and Kyle Singler had 17 points and five rebounds.

Purdue is looking to reach its fifth Elite Eight in school history and first since 2000 with a win over Duke. Purdue has won five of its last six, but a knee injury to Robbie Hummel has left the Boilermakers short handed in the scoring department. Still, Purdue defeated

Siena 72-64 in the first round of the tournament and defeated Texas A&M 63-61 in overtime in the second round. Purdue held the Aggies to 35 percent shooting to get the win. Chris Kramer had 17 points and seven rebounds for Purdue while E’Twaun Moore had 15 points and six rebounds.

Purdue could contend with Duke at full strength, but the Boilermakers are hanging on by a thread. Oddsmakers don’t have much respect for them, making them 8.5-point underdogs despite being ranked in the top 10 most of the season. Look for Duke to win this game comfortable with the under hitting.

Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is:
DUKE -8.5 and UNDER 127
March Madness Betting Trends

Purdue is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games

The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Purdue’s last 8 games

Purdue is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games

Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Duke’s last 6 games

March Madness Injury Report


DUKE

No Injuries Reported 

PURDUE

G – Robbie Hummel – out for season (knee) 
March Madness Game Odds
Duke Blue Devils (-500) -8.5 Over 127

Purdue Boilermakers (+350) +8.5 Under 127
Bet March Madness
Posted: 3/26/10 6:00PM ET