March Madness 2025: Bettors are backing No. 13 High Point to pull an upset over No. 4 Purdue in the first round
High Point is bettors' preferred upset pick of the first round of the men's NCAA tournament.
The No. 13 Panthers play No. 4 Purdue on Thursday afternoon in the first game of the Midwest region. High Point opened as a 9.5-point underdog to the Boilermakers at BetMGM and that number has already come down to 7.5 points as of Wednesday afternoon.
That's because High Point is getting the most bets and money against the spread of any team in the NCAA tournament so far. Over 80% of bets and 88% of the handle bet on the game is on High Point to cover.
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High Point is +280 to win the game outright and is also getting the most moneyline action of any team. The total of 153.5 — down two points from an opening total of 155.5 — is also the most-bet total of any game.
The Panthers went 29-5 in the regular season and won both the regular season and Big South conference tournament titles. The team ranks 19th in the country with over 82 points per game and is led by a rotation that features five seniors and a junior among the team's top seven scorers. Kezza Giffa leads the team with 14.8 points per game.
Purdue is led by star guard Braden Smith and is hoping to avoid a second first-round upset in three seasons. The Boilermakers became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in 2023 when they fell to Fairleigh Dickinson. A season ago, Purdue bounced back and went to the national title game before losing to back-to-back national champion UConn.
The only game getting more action at BetMGM than High Point and Purdue is Michigan's matchup against UC San Diego. And bettors are split on that one. UCSD is getting the second-most moneyline bets at +125, but Michigan is getting the second-most bets against the spread. The Wolverines are 2.5-point favorites as a No. 5 seed after beating Wisconsin for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday.
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