T.M. Selection: Saint Peter's.

I like Saint Peter's to cover the spread against Purdue in this game on Friday. Saint Peter's has looked really good in their games lately and they have been going on a very nice where they have kicked out some big teams already. Their NCAA tournament started with a huge upset over Kentucky as 18 point dogs in the round of 64 and then they went into the round of 32 as dogs again against Murray State but they still pulled off yet another upset, beating Murray State by 10 points. They didn't finish 1st in their conference this year but they went on a huge run at the end of the year getting really hot and they were able to steal the bid in their conference tournament. Saint Peter's has won 9 games in a row now and I think they can keep up playing at a high level here. Their play has been elevated since coming to this tournament and they have the momentum of the upset story cinderella magic here since they are the lowest seed left in the sweet 16. I think the pressure is on Purdue here since they are the favorite and the bigger school and they haven't even looked that great in their games lately. They have looked better in their 2 most recent games with wins by 10+ points in both, but they ended the year off with some bad losses and even in their wins they were just barely escaping those games. I think Saint Peter's has the momentum and the magic on their side here to at least keep this a close game. Purdue has looked better lately but they still haven't been blowing out many teams lately and I think Saint Peter's will stick around in this game since all the pressure is on Purdue here. I like Saint Peter's to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 76-70 Purdue.