2019 NCAA Regional Semi-Final Preview and Prediction: Purdue Boilermakers vs Tennessee Volunteers

TV schedule: Thursday, March 28, 7:29 pm ET. TBS

Arena: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky

Tennessee struggled to get to round sixteen. In the first round, Colgate made the game extremely uncomfortable late for the Volunteers, until the Vols righted the ship for a 77-70 win. In the second round, they blew a 25-point lead against the Iowa Hawkeyes before pulling the game out in overtime. The Vols have been solid on offense, but the defensive end of the floor has caused issues for them and if those issues continue they will not be playing much longer.

Purdue, however, has been dominant in two early wins, led by the streaking play of Carson Edwards. Edwards has been streaky all year and if he stays hot he could very well carry the Boilermakers to their first final four in 39 years.

Prediction: Carson Edwards, if he is on, will lead the Boilermakers to the win in this game. When you look at these teams the Volunteers have not played well lately and before that, in the middle of the season, they played a fairly soft schedule. Matt Haarms can be a handful in the paint and when you combine that with Edwards, I think the Vols will have major issues defending Purdue.

Purdue 75 Vols 68