Texas Longhorns vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 3/26/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Longhorns vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026

Location: SAP Center in San Jose, CA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Texas (+7)

The Texas Longhorns (21-14) are en route to SAP Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the Purdue Boilermakers (28-8) in the Sweet 16. Purdue opens this game as 7-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 148.

The Texas Longhorns faced Gonzaga and earned the victory with a final of 74-68 in their last contest. Texas wrapped up the game with a 51.7% field goal percentage (31 out of 60) and buried 5 of their 15 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Longhorns made 7 of 9 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 27 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 20 assists for the game as well as creating 7 turnovers and having 4 steals. With respect to defense, Texas allowed 45.0% from the field on 27 of 60 shooting. Gonzaga distributed 21 dimes and had 5 steals for this contest. On top of that, Gonzaga snagged 29 rebounds (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Gonzaga finished shooting 83.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 12 tries. They also buried 4 of 16 attempts from 3-point land. In the matter of fouls, the Longhorns ended up finishing with 11 and Gonzaga finished the game with 9 fouls.

Jordan Pope is someone who was a factor for this game. He walked away from this one shooting 38.9% from the field and also distributed 3 dimes. He played for 32 mins and also pulled down 1 board. He racked up 17 points on 7 out of 18 shooting.

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Texas enters this game with a win-loss mark of 21-14 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 10.8 times per game and as a team are committing 18.5 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Texas is pulling in 37.7 rebounds per game and has tallied 438 assists on the season, which is 206th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Longhorns are shooting 35.2% on shots from distance (255 of 725) and 74.6% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 82.9 points per game (36th in the country) while connecting on 48.3% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Longhorns are able to force 9.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.9 fouls. They are currently ranked 130th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 418 surrendered so far this year. The Longhorns defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 44.7% (911 of 2,039) and they concede 30.5 rebounds per contest as a unit. They give up 35.2% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 239th in college in points per game allowed (76.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Purdue Boilermakers went home victorious with a score of 79-69 when they faced Miami. The Boilermakers snagged 19 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards totaling 23 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 8 steals in this contest. Miami committed 16 personal fouls for the game which got the Boilermakers to the free throw line for 22 tries. They were able to make 21 of them for a rate of 95.5%. In regard to three-point shots, Purdue made 8 of 14 attempts (57.1%). When the game finished, the Boilermakers finished 25 out of 47 from the field which had them shooting 53.2%. The Boilermakers allowed Miami to convert 28 of their 63 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.4% for the game. They shot 26.3% from three-point range by going 5 out of 19 and finished the contest at 8 out of 10 from the free throw line (80.0%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Purdue permitted Miami to snag 30 in all (12 on the offensive side).

Fletcher Loyer ended up being a factor for the Boilermakers for this game. He made 6 of 7 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 85.7%, and totaled 1 rebound. He racked up 24 points in his 35 mins of playing time and had 2 dimes in this contest.

Purdue has a win-loss mark of 28-8 on the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Boilermakers are connecting on 50.3% from the floor, which is 9th in the nation. Purdue has scored 2,962 points on the season (82.3 per game) and they pull down 35.6 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 20.0 times per game (3rd in college) and they turn the ball over 8.9 times per game. The Boilermakers are committing 14.6 fouls every game and they shoot 74.1% from the free throw line.

The Boilermakers defensively are ranked 74th in the nation in points given up per game with 70.2. They are forcing 10.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the field (210th in college). The Purdue defense gives up 34.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (313 of 920) and their opponents are converting on 72.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 14.8 assists and 28.2 boards per game, which has them ranked 282nd and 1st in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Texas (+7)

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