The West Region: Sweet 16 Odds and Predictions

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MARCH 22: Gicarri Harris #24 and Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrate a basket against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images Purdue has settled in as a top 16 team in college basketball, once again. In seven of the last nine years l, Purdue has staked their claim to that title of college basketball, the most S16 appearances during that span.

Now they get the “Cinderella” Texas, who has one of the highest payrolls in CBB, but underperformed their way into a play in game to a Sweet 16 birth. According to Fanduel, Purdue finds themselves as a -6. 5 favorite against the Longhorns, a team in which it seems that we have run into, time and time again.

Some are worried that the familiar face of Cam Heide could cause scheme issues for Purdue, as he knows some of the sets and calls, but I personally am in the court of, you may know something, but you have to stop the execution of it. I like Purdue to roll here, Winning by 10+ points. I believe the matchup at the 5 will be a slug fest, but Renn will feast and Loyer will stay hot to a convincing win.

Will CJ Cox play? If not, obviously that is a blow, but Gicarri filled the void immediately with winning plays. At the top of the West Region we get 1 seed Arizona vs 4 seed Arkansas, in what seems like much more of a slug fest on paper.