Texas opens as big underdog to Purdue in Sweet 16 game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Despite losing five of their last six regular-season games and falling to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament, Texas landed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
But after a dramatic win over NC State in the First Four, a victory over BYU in the first round, and an upset of third-seeded Gonzaga, the Longhorns are in the Sweet 16. The last team to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16 was UCLA in 2021.
Now, if Sean Miller’s team is to get to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2023, it’ll need to knock out Purdue on Thursday. The second-seeded Boilermakers blew out Queens on Friday and dropped Miami on Sunday to earn their own spot in the West regional semifinal in San Jose.
Needless to say, the Longhorns will be an underdog for as long as they’re in the Big Dance, and the game against Purdue is no exception. In fact, according to DraftKings, Purdue is heading into the matchup a 7.5 point favorite.
As you might imagine, the Kalshi market for this one heavily favors Purdue as well.
This will be just the fourth time Texas and Purdue meet on the hardwood. In fact, the last time was on Mar. 20, 2022, as Purdue defeated Texas 81-71 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
