Day one of the Men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament was electric. Shifting our focus to first-round games on Friday, March 20, the No. 15 Queens University Royals (21-13) take on the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers (27-18).
As 26.5-point underdogs on PrizePicks Team Picks, the Royals may need divine intervention if they hope to win this game and advance to the second round. On the bright side, Purdue is only three years removed from losing to a No. 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Queens vs. Purdue tips off at 7:35 p.m. ET on Friday from St. Louis, MO., live on TruTV.
Who could have an advantage for Friday’s first-round matchup between Queens vs. Purdue pick against the spread? Use PrizePicks Team Picks to make NCAA Tournament predictions on game winners, spreads, over/unders, and more.
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Queens vs. Purdue Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
Queens enters the tournament following a thrilling OT win in the ASUN Championship game vs. Central Arkansas. This will be the university's first-ever appearance in the Men’s NCAA Tournament, and they may need to put forth their absolute best effort if they are to compete with a premier program like Purdue.
The Royals implement a high-tempo, offense-centric game plan, ranking 65th nationally in pace and 77th in offensive rating, according to KenPom.
Speaking of elite offenses, Purdue comes into today’s matchup ranked second in offensive rating, but it would prefer to run their sets at a slow pace, ranking 325th nationally in tempo.
The Boilermakers entered the season as the AP Poll Preseason Rankings No. 1 team and failed to live up to that expectation throughout the early parts of the season. That all changed in the Big Ten Tournament, as they smashed their way through Nebraska, UCLA, and Michigan to claim the championship. Purdue seems to be peaking at just the right time.
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Queens vs. Purdue Spread, Over/Under
The Boilermakers enter Friday’s game as major 26.5-point favorites, per PrizePicks Team Picks.
The Royals are massive underdogs with a 22.22x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 35 states.
- Spread: Purdue Boilermakers -26.5 (2x payout)
- Over/Under: 160.5 (1.92x payout on over)
- Game Winner Payout: Queens 22.22x | Purdue N/A
Team Picks data is live as of writing and is subject to change.
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Queens vs. Purdue Prediction on Spread for NCAA Tournament – 3/20/26
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Queens vs. Purdue prediction on the spread for Friday, March 20, on PrizePicks.
- Queens is just 14-18-1 (43.8%) against the spread (ATS).
- Purdue is likely a bit underrated, given how difficult its schedule was this season; the Boilermakers faced the 48th-toughest non-conference strength of schedule.
- Purdue ranks 20th nationally in 2-point field goal percentage at 58.1%, and Queens gives up a 54.1% 2-point percentage (284th).
- The Royals are 67th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.9%), while the Boilermakers give up a 34.2% mark from deep (196th).
Make Queens vs. Purdue Picks on PrizePicks
Purdue is peaking at the perfect time and could put the hurt on Queens. Or will the Royals pull off a monumental upset?
You can make your Queens vs. Purdue picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Check out the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, news, and more throughout the NCAA Tournament.
