What is the NCAA Tournament without gambling? Of course, as Purdue fans we gamble every year we’re in the tournament. We just gamble with our health, mental state, and livelhoods. Still the early odds are out and Purdue is prominent in them as well as in some of the props. Odds to Win the Championship Duke: 9/2 Virginia: 11/1 Gonzaga: 12/1 Kentucky: 12/1 UNC: 14/1 Michigan State: 15/1 Tennessee: 16/1 Michigan: 18/1 Texas Tech: 19/1 Nevada: 28/1 LSU: 38/1 Houston: 40/1 Purdue: 40/1 Kansas: 45/1 Florida State: 60/1 Villanova: 65/1 FIELD: 7/1 Odds to be named Final Four Most Outstanding Player Zion Williamson (Duke): 9/1 (Duke): 9/1 RJ Barrett (Duke): 13/1 (Duke): 13/1 Cassius Winston (MSU): 19/1 (MSU): 19/1 PJ Washington (UK): 24/1 (UK): 24/1 Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech): 25/1 (Texas Tech): 25/1 Grant Williams (Tennessee): 26/1 (Tennessee): 26/1 Kyle Guy (UVA): 30/1 (UVA): 30/1 Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga): 31/1 (Gonzaga): 31/1 Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga): 33/1 (Gonzaga): 33/1 Ty Jerome (UVA): 34/1 (UVA): 34/1 Deandre Hunter (UVA): 35/1 Coby White (UNC): 40/1 (UNC): 40/1 Luke Maye (UNC): 42/1 (UNC): 42/1 Carsen Edwards (Purdue): 44/1 (Purdue): 44/1 Cameron Johnson (UNC): 50/1 (UNC): 50/1 Admiral Schofield (Tennessee): 55/1 Odds to be the First #1 Seed to lose Gonzaga: 7/3 UNC: 5/2 UVA: 3/1 Duke: 5/1 Over/Under Total Buzzer Beaters to Win a Game in the Tournament: 1.5 Odds to have the highest scoring game of the tournament RJ Barrett (Duke): 15/1 Carsen Edwards (Purdue): 16/1 Zion Williamson (Duke): 18/1 JA Morant (Murray St): 24/1 Markus Howard (Marquette): 24/1 (Marquette): 24/1 Fletcher Magee (Wofford): 28/1 (Wofford): 28/1 Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s): 30/1 (St. John’s): 30/1 Grant Williams (Tennessee): 32/1 (Tennessee): 32/1 CJ Massinburg (Buffalo): 33/1 (Buffalo): 33/1 Dylan Windler (Belmont): 40/1 Odds Charles Barkley picks Duke as his National Champion: 1/1 Over/Under – Number of Final 4 teams Charles Barkley Guesses Correctly: 1.0 Over/under Zion Williamson Dunks in the tourney: 8.5 Odds of a “shoe malfunction” during a tournament game: 32/1 Odds the first “shoe malfunction” is from a shoe made by ... Nike: 1/2 Adidas: 6/1 Under Armour: 7/1 Jordan: 18/1 FIELD: 85/1 Odds which Big Ten team is the last remaining Michigan State: 5/2 Michigan: 7/2 Purdue: 9/2 FIELD: 11/5 Odds to be the last Big 12 Team remaining Texas Tech: 3/2 Kansas State: 9/2 Kansas: 5/1 FIELD: 3/1 Odds following coaches still have their current jobs at start of 2019-20 season<doc-sep>HARTFORD, Conn. -- What an ignominious end for the reigning national champs. The 2017-18 national champions were downed in the XL Center 87-61, the 26-point margin of defeat serving as the second largest in tournament history for a reigning national champion. Villanova is done, Purdue is moving on. Credit to Boilermakers swag captain Carsen Edwards, the junior combo guard who entered the season as one of the guys on the short list for preseason national player of the year. Edwards had a good campaign -- he keyed Purdue to a top finish in the Big Ten -- but fell short of those NPOY expectations. So to see him go for 42 points, hit an XL Center-record nine 3-pointers and boot Villanova out of the bracket the way he did was a powerful turn of events. Edwards has to feel incredible after this, too. He's been an inconsistent shooter this season, but going 9-of-16 from 3-point range puts those concerns at bay. Purdue moves along in the South and will face the winner of No. 2 Tennessee and No. 10 Iowa on Thursday night in Louisville. As for Nova, it starts largely anew next season. It will be a talented but young team. Wildcats coach Jay Wright said afterward that his team's dreadful start vs. Purdue reminded him of what Villanova did to Kansas in the 2018 Final Four. To be on the other end of it is a humbling thing. "I would be lying if I said that didn't come into my head during the game," Wright said. "Your job, as a coach, is get it right out of your head. But it did come in there, and you just have to compete. You have to continue to compete each possession. And this game is a humbling game. You could be on either side of it. And it's one of the things we said to the guys after the Kansas game: Give those guys respect because we came out and made every shot. It doesn't happen every night." This is still the best program in the Big East and figures to be nearly as good, if not better, next season if the pieces grow correctly. A word of congratulations to Nova seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. Those two kept Villanova playing at a level that it probably should not have even gotten to this season. But they were reliable veterans who didn't run from their posts and didn't bail on the team. To see them so emotional afterward was a reminder of how cruel and harsh this tournament can be. The endings come swift, like a machete for some. "I thank Coach Wright for everything he's done for me," Paschall said. "Without him, I wouldn't be here. I guess losing in your senior year, but at the end of the day, I love Villanova. I mean, everything they've done for me, every little thing, that's all the emotions that were happening." We've now gone 12 straight seasons with the standing national champion failing to make the Sweet 16. The last team to do it is also the last team to win back-to-back national champions: Florida in 2007. Villanova's exodus also means the Big East will have no teams in the Sweet 16, which is a rarity for the conference.<doc-sep>
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - No NCAA tournament. No WNIT. That means the season for the Purdue women's basketball team is officially over with a 19-15 record. After losing 9 of their last 13 games, the Boilermakers played themselves out of consideration for the NCAA tournament. The decision to bypass the WNIT was announced Monday night. The school issued a press release following the announcement of the 64-team field for the NCAA tournament saying it would forego an invitation to play in the WNIT. This marks just the third time since 1993 the Boilermakers won't participate in any postseason event. The reason? According to the press release, Purdue coach Sharon Versyp, the administration and the 2018-19 team "collectively made the decision in favor of the health and overall welfare of their student-athletes, and are set to focus on preparing for the 2019-20 season." The press release also stated that the Boilermakers "battled through injuries and a short bench over the last month of the season, with several individuals logging some of the highest minute-per-game totals in program history." STEPPING UP? :Time for Purdue women's basketball program to show real progress While Purdue had three players - Karissa McLaughlin, Dominique Oden and Ae'Rianna Harris - average 32.6 minutes or more per game, the Boilermakers didn't receive enough production from the bench throughout the season to help offset the heavy minutes logged by the starters. “There are a lot of factors that go into a decision like this one,” Versyp said in a statement. “It’s never an easy conclusion to reach. That being said, it’s in the best interest of our student-athletes, our staff and our athletic department to forego the invitation from a medical standpoint.” Purdue played in the WNIT last season with the goal of preparing for this year's NCAA tournament but that didn't materialize. The Boilermakers lose two seniors but Nora Kiesler and Abby Abel didn't play this season. Assuming no one transfers, Purdue returns its playing roster from this year and adds Pacific transfer Jenelle Grant, who becomes eligible after sitting out last season. Purdue welcomes two freshmen - Georgia point guard Bria Harmon and Missouri forward Rickie Woltman. Meanwhile, the Big Ten sent six teams to the NCAA tournament - Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana. The Hoosiers made the NCAA tournament one year after winning the WNIT championship. However, Rutgers declined a bid from the WNIT last year and is playing in this year's NCAA tournament. Ohio State, Minnesota and Northwestern accepted bids to play in the WNIT.