The 2^nd half of the Final Four will be decided on Sunday and the first game on the slate will feature the 2-seed Tennessee Volunteers facing the 1-seed Purdue Boilermakers in the Midwest Region Championship game in Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena with the game scheduled to start at 2:20 PM ET on Sunday afternoon and will air on CBS.

The Tennessee Volunteers won the regular season championship in the SEC, however, were eliminated early in the SEC Tournament by the Mississippi State Bulldogs in blowout fashion by a score of 56-73, however, they have rebounded nicely winning their first three games in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with wins over the St. Peter’s Peacocks by a score of 83-49 in the 1^st round, the Texas Longhorns by a score of 62-58 in the 2^nd round, and an 82-75 win in the Sweet 16 against the Creighton Bluejays. 

The Bluejays started the game on a 7-3 run, however, Josiah-Jordan James would answer by scoring six points in under a minute with two three-point shots made. Creighton would regain the lead with less than 3 minutes left in the 1^st half after they made two consecutive three-point shots of their own to take a 33-29 lead and would have a 35-34 lead at halftime, however, the Volunteers would start the 2^nd half on a 21-4 run to take a commanding 55-39 lead and would not trail the rest of the game against the Bluejays. This will only be the 2^nd time in program history that the Tennessee Volunteers have played in the Elite Eight with the most recent appearance coming in the 2010 NCAA Tournament which resulted in a 69-70 loss against the Michigan State Spartans. 

The Tennessee Volunteers will look to advance to their first Final Four in program history with a win against the Purdue Boilermakers in the Elite Eight.

Like the Tennessee Volunteers, the Purdue Boilermakers are also the regular season champions of their respective conference, the Big Ten, and were eliminated in the Big Ten Conference Tournament Semifinals against the Wisconsin Badgers in overtime by a score of 75-76. 

However, Purdue has been one of the most dominant teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as they have won all three of their tournament games by an average margin of 26.33 points per game following a 78-50 win in the 1^st round against the Grambling State Tigers, a 106-67 win in the 2^nd round against the Utah State Aggies, and on Friday in their Sweet 16 matchup against the Gonzaga Bulldogs by a score of 80-68. Purdue has covered the spread in all three of their games in the tournament this season including a 4.5-point cover as a favorite against Gonzaga on Friday. 

This will be Purdue’s 6^th appearance in the Elite Eight and have compiled a record of 2-3 in the Elite Eight with their most recent appearance in the Elite Eight coming in the 2019 NCAA Tournament which resulted in a loss against the Virginia Cavaliers by a score of 75-80 in overtime. The Purdue Boilermakers will look to advance to the Final Four for the first time since the 1980 NCAA Tournament with a win against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday afternoon.

BookMaker has the Purdue Boilermakers listed as 4-point favorites against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon. Purdue has won three of the four games all-time in the series and is 2-1-1 ATS in those meetings with the most recent matchup coming earlier this season which resulted in a 71-67 win for the Purdue Boilermakers in the Maui Invitational and a 3.5-point cover as a favorite.

Purdue has looked like the 2^nd most dominant team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and looks like it's on a collision course with the UConn Huskies in the Championship game as both have won by an average margin of at least 25 points in the tournament this season. The Volunteers had a close call against the Texas Longhorns but despite the game against Creighton being decided by 7 points, the Volunteers dictated the majority of the 2^nd half of their Sweet 16 matchup. I look for Purdue to remain dominant in this matchup which is why I am laying the points with the Boilermakers when they face the Volunteers in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon.