The No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten) take on the Northwestern Wildcats (17-7, 8-5) in Evanston on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Purdue vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Purdue bounced back from Feb. 4 loss to Indiana with an 87-73 win at home over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday, covering the 7.5-point spread. Junior C Zach Edey is averaging 22.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. His 7-foot-4 frame leaves him unstoppable in the post and he has a 63% shooting percentage from the floor. The leader for the Wooden Award as player of the year, Edey will have an easy time against the undersized Wildcats.
Northwestern has won its last 2 games, both on the road, the last a 69-63 win at Ohio State on Thursday as 5.5-point underdogs. If Northwestern, tied for 3rd in the Big Ten, hopes to pull off a home upset, it will have to neutralize everyone else on the floor other than Edey.
This is the only meeting between the schools this season.
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Purdue at Northwestern odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:23 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Purdue -190 (bet $190 to win $100) | Northwestern +145 (bet $100 to win $145)
- Against the spread (ATS): Purdue -4.5 (-110) | Northwestern +4.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 131.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Purdue at Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Purdue 70, Northwestern 58
Moneyline
PASS.
Purdue has been the best team in the Big Ten all season. This game will not be as close as the spread suggests and a wager on the favorite, while good to add to a parlay, is not worth a straight wager.
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Against the spread
PURDUE -4.5 (-110).
Purdue has the best player in this game and this will make a huge difference when it comes to the scoreboard. Even in a 79-74 loss last Saturday, Edey scored 33 points and had 18 rebounds. Doing this against Northwestern will lead to a blowout and 4.5 points is not enough for me to want to take the risk on the Wildcats. Purdue is the better team and it will show on Sunday.
Over/Under
UNDER 131.5 (-110).
Purdue averages 74.6 points per game but Northwestern has the 21st-ranked team defense at 62.1 points allowed. While Purdue will win this matchup, the offense might be held down just a bit and struggle to get to 70.
On the other side of the floor, the Boilermakers defense ranks 15th at 61.6 points and will hold down the Wildcats offense, which is 263rd in the country at 68.4 points.
Both teams will slow down the pace and with Edey hitting a lot of shots in the paint, the 3-point shot will not be a large factor.
Northwestern struggles against the better teams on its schedule. The Under has hit in 11 of 12 games against teams with a winning record. For Purdue, it is much of the same as the Boilermakers are 7-0 to the under in its last 7 against teams with winning records.
This will stay low scoring and the 131.5 is just a few points too high. This would be either an Under play or a stay away at this number.
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