Purdue vs. Queens University: NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview

The 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first round 2026 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our NCAA Tournament predictions and preview for Purdue vs. Queens University.

2026 NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview: Purdue vs. Queens

Here are the odds for this opening-round matchup of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Let’s dive into our preview and predictions for this NCAA Tournament matchup.

Purdue 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

Purdue entered the season with the cursed AP No. 1 ranking, defeating Alabama and Texas Tech before getting trounced by Iowa State in December. The Boilermakers have been one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country, finishing with the second-best KenPom offense and ranking in the top 25 in offensive rebound rate, turnover rate, two-point shooting rate and three-point shooting rate.

Point guard Braden Smith broke the Big Ten’s career assists record this season and is averaging 8.7 per game, only behind Jeremy Fears Jr. nationally. Trey Kaufman-Renn shoots 57% from the field with nearly nine boards per game. Fletcher Loyer has hit over 41% of his threes across the season. Oscar Cluff has been a legitimate steal as a transfer big, shooting 71% from the field and leading the nation in KenPom offensive rating. C.J. Cox provides reliable guard play, with one of the nation’s lowest turnover rates. Daniel Jacobsen, the 7-foot-4 sophomore, gives Purdue a shot-altering presence behind Cluff and Kaufman-Renn that most teams struggle to match. When Purdue is running on all cylinders, it becomes nearly impossible to guard.

The defense is where Purdue’s title case gets complicated. The Boilermakers gave up 91 points to Michigan in a home loss that raised some questions. Since that game, Purdue's defense ranks outside of the top 140. Late in the season, the Boilermakers’ defensive breakdowns became consistent enough to create a late-season narrative that has tracked them into the NCAA Tournament. While Purdue doesn’t allow many second-chance looks and stays out of foul trouble, teams have shot well against these Boilermakers. A team with this much experience, this much shooting and one of the most meticulous coaches in the sport should be able to get a stop when it needs one. The question is whether it actually can against some of the best teams in college basketball.

Queens University 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

The Royals run one of the most analytically optimized offenses in the field, shooting almost exclusively from the rim or beyond the arc, and doing both well enough to generate elite point totals on a good night. Senior shooter Chris Ashby can get hot in a hurry, and freshman Jordan Watford is the kind of attacking guard who can draw fouls and create chaos in short bursts. On paper, this is a fun team to root for.

The problem is defense, which is essentially nonexistent at every level. Queens went 0-for-8 against top-200 opponents in non-conference play and got torched by every quality offense it faced, going 0-5 against top-100 opponents and dropping to 299th in DI, per Bart Torvik. But, hey, maybe that will help prepare the Royals for their matchup.

Head coach Grant Leonard's squad needs to hit an offensive threshold just to stay competitive, and against a top seed with a real defense, getting there is going to be extremely difficult. Queens’ ceiling in this tournament is entirely dependent on whether the shots fall from the opening tip. Maybe just stick to betting the over in any game Queens is involved in, rather than going crazy with a Cinderella run.

More NCAA Tournament Predictions & Previews

#1 Duke vs. #16 Siena
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 TCU
#5 St. John’s vs. #12 Northern Iowa
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Cal Baptist
#6 Louisville vs. #11 South Florida
#3 Michigan State vs. #14 North Dakota State
#7 UCLA vs. #10 UCF
#2 UConn vs. #15 Furman

#1 Arizona vs. #16 LIU
#8 Villanova vs. #9 Utah State
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 High Point
#4 Arkansas vs. #13 Hawai’i
#11 Texas vs. North Carolina State
#3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Kennesaw State
#7 Miami (FL) vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Purdue vs. #15 Queens

#16 UMBC vs. Howard
#8 Georgia vs. #9 Saint Louis
#5 Texas Tech vs. #12 Akron
#4 Alabama vs. #13 Hofstra
#11 Miami OH vs. SMU
#3 Virginia vs. #14 Wright State
#7 Kentucky vs. #10 Santa Clara
#2 Iowa State vs. #15 Tennessee State

#16 Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh
#8 Clemson vs. #9 Iowa
#5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 McNeese
#4 Nebraska vs. #13 Troy
#6 North Carolina vs. #11 VCU
#3 Illinois vs. #14 Penn
#7 Saint Mary’s vs. #10 Texas A&M
#2 Houston vs. #15 Idaho

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