This Elite Eight Battle Will Showcase Elite Offenses

Purdue vs. Arizona, 8:49 ET

This has been a rough NCAA Tournament for me. If you've faded me, you've made a lot of profit. I say this quite a bit, but I'd rather be losing consistently than going 1-1 for these plays because even though I'm losing, those who follow me can at least make some money. This should be one of the best games of the entire tournament as you get one of the more versatile and veteran teams in Purdue taking on a young, but very deep Arizona team. 

Purdue has been ranked as one of the best teams in the country for the majority of the season. They entered the year as the #1-ranked team in the nation and lived up to the hype for about a month before they were chopped down by Iowa State. That's not overly concerning to me; most teams lose games, and Iowa State is talented. They bounced back and won nine games in a row. However, they then dropped three straight games to UCLA, Illinois, and Indiana. Before the Big 10 Tournament, they also started dropping games, losing four of their last six games. They did win the Big 10 Tournament, beating Nebraska and Michigan along the way. This has been a fairly easy path to the Elite Eight for Purdue as they've had to face Queens University, then Miami, and finally Texas. That isn't to say they've been dominant. It was a 10-point win over Miami, and then they needed a last-second tip-in over Texas to win. They were losing a lot of that game against the Longhorns as well. 

Purdue PG Braden Smith drives past Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd at the Kohl Center in Madison. (Photo credit: © Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) 

Arizona has put together a remarkable season. They were not ranked in the top 10 to start the season, but they ran off 23 wins to start the year which was very impressive. Along the way, they beat Florida to start the year, UCLA, UConn, Auburn, Alabama, and BYU. It turned out that UCLA and Auburn weren't that good this season, but they were both ranked at the time. They lost back-to-back games to Kansas and Texas Tech, but aside from those two games, they've been great. The Wildcats have won 12 straight games now, including three to win the Big 12 Tournament. In that, they took down both Iowa State and Houston. Both of those games were tightly contested battles, but Arizona pulled them out. They have been coasting in the Tournament to this point. They destroyed Long Island University in the opener, then took down Utah State with relative ease. In their most recent game, they beat Arkansas by 21. It didn't matter what they tried, they were dominating in the game. 

In this one, the question is mostly about the backcourt. Can Purdue's veterans slow down the Wildcats? Brayden Burries is probably the most talented scorer of the group, but Braden Smith is very good and the NCAA all-time assist leader. On the interior, they have some decent height, but Arizona does have a few guys who are more talented and athletic. They are still young, so it is possible that they fall apart when the pressure comes on them, but it hasn't happened yet this season. I like the over for this game. Both teams will be crafty about getting their offense going. They shouldn't have much resistance from the opposing defense either. Give me over 152.5. I do lean to the Wildcats winning, but Purdue covering.  

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