The top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers hope history does not repeat itself when they face the No. 16 seed Grambling Tigers in a first-round matchup in the Midwest Region of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday. Purdue (29-4) was the No. 1 seed in the East Region last year and was upset 63-58 by 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the opening round. Grambling (21-14) is coming off an 88-81 overtime victory against Montana State in the First Four on Wednesday in the first NCAA Tournament game in school history.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:25 p.m. ET. The Boilermakers are 27-point favorites in the latest Purdue vs. Grambling odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 139.

Before making any Grambling vs. Purdue picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament on a 148-106 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 29-19 (+810) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following it has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Purdue is one victory away from matching the single-season program record of 30 set in 2017-18. Senior center Zach Edey leads all Division I players in points (1,563) and rebounds (825) over the past two seasons, making him the first to do so over a two-year span since Ohio's Gary Trent (1993-95). Edey scored 28 points in the Boilermakers' 76-75 overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to increase his career total to 2,339 and set the school record previously held by Rick Mount (2,323 from 1967-70).

But the model also has taken into account that Grambling was victorious in its NCAA Tournament debut despite subpar performances by its top two scorers. While junior guard Kintavious Dozier (12.9 points) and senior guard Tra'Michael Moton (11.6) scored six points apiece against Montana State, sophomore guard Jimel Cofer (3.5) came off the bench to lead the Tigers with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Senior guard Jourdan Smith and sophomore forward Antwan Burnett each made a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, with Smith also grabbing nine rebounds.

For Friday, the model has set its sights on the 2024 NCAA Tournament and Purdue vs. Grambling. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits more than 50% of the time. You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Purdue vs. Grambling, and which side of the spread hits more than 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Grambling vs. Purdue spread you should be all over Friday, all from the model on a 148-106 roll on college basketball picks!