The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Check out our Men's March Madness odds series for our Tennessee Purdue prediction and pick. Find how to watch Tennessee Purdue.

Here we go. This is the most pressure-packed game of the whole NCAA Tournament, including next week's national championship game. Think that's wrong? Remember: Everyone hopes to win the national title, but making the Final Four is the gold standard for most programs. With UConn being the heavy favorite to win the national championship, the national title game could be a game in which one team is playing with house money against the Huskies and therefore won't feel all that much pressure. Getting to the Final Four is a different story, especially if two teams in the Elite Eight have had one nightmare after another in their attempt to reach college basketball's ultimate weekend.

Elite Eight games are the true pressure cookers of college basketball. For Purdue and Tennessee, this game — this round, this situation — carries enormous weight, a burden beyond all imagining.

Purdue hasn't made the Final Four since 1980. This is a proud basketball school in a basketball-first state — Indiana — which takes college hoops very seriously. Purdue has kept knocking on the door year after year after year but has not been able to break through. A 44-year Final Four drought has carried with it a lot of pain and misery. Gene Keady had No. 1 and No. 2-seeded teams with a great chance to make the Final Four. They couldn't do it. Purdue had a No. 3 seed in 2019 which came within one missed Virginia shot of making the Final Four, but the Boilermakers were denied in overtime. Recent Purdue teams, particularly 2022, had a great path in the bracket but then lost to a double-digit seed. So many demons have haunted Purdue over nearly half a century. This game is for the right to not only go to the Final Four, but bury a lot of bad memories for good. It's a chance for coach Matt Painter to never hear questions again about making the Final Four.

Yet, as bad as that drought has been for Purdue, it's not the longest and worst Final Four story of suffering in this matchup. Purdue's 44-year drought isn't as bad as Tennessee's reality. The Vols have never made the Final Four. They have had a lot of good teams over many decades and with many different coaches. Ray Mears had the Ernie (Grunfeld) and Bernie (Bernard King) show in the 1970s. Don DeVoe had several NCAA Tournament teams. Jerry Green took the Vols to the 2000 Sweet 16. Bruce Pearl made the Elite Eight. Rick Barnes has had several highly-seeded teams, some of which have reached the Sweet 16. None of them have broken through. Here, at last, is a chance to advance to an April weekend in Glendale and forge a memory of a lifetime.

This is it. Two teams with unfathomably long waits. One will end. One will persist. This is supreme pressure, more than the national title game.

Here are the Tennessee-Purdue Men's March Madness odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

Men's March Madness Odds: Tennessee-Purdue Odds

Tennessee Volunteers: +3.5 (-115)

Purdue Boilermakers: -3.5 (-105)

Over: 147.5 (-110)

Under: 147.5 (-110)

How To Watch Tennessee vs Purdue

Time: 2:20 pm ET / 11:20 am PT

TV: CBS

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Tennessee Could Cover the Spread

The Vols are good. They have played better in this tournament than a lot of people expected they would. They play defense. They are tough. They are experienced. They can be physical with Purdue's Zach Edey. They won't back down. They have a player, Dalton Knecht, who can get hot and carry them. They have the ingredients needed to beat Purdue.

Why Purdue Could Cover the Spread

The Purdue Boilermakers and Zach Edey have been outstanding in this tournament. They haven't just won three straight games. They have looked dominant and convincing in these wins. The guards are making shots. The offense is not grinding to a halt. This is how Matt Painter dreamed his team could play. A lot of people think Purdue is the only team which can stand up to UConn in a potential national title game, because Edey can go up against Donovan Clingan of UConn. Edey should dominate his matchup against Tennessee and carry Purdue home to the Final Four.

Final Tennessee-Purdue Prediction & Pick

Don't bet on this game. Let these teams prove they belong in the Final Four.

Final Tennessee-Purdue Prediction & Pick: Tennessee +3.5