The No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers are on the road in Madison for a big matchup with the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers are coming off an 80-72 loss to Nebraska, and Purdue is looking for their eight consecutive win after just getting by Northwestern in overtime on Wednesday.
The Badgers are 2-2 against ranked teams, and the Boilermakers are 5-0 against ranked teams.
The two have split the last four matchups by five or less points in each contest. Despite Zach Edey’s dominance over the years, Wisconsin always finds a way to keep it close in what are usually tough defensive battles.
The game-high in the last four games is 74 points, which is 10 points less than what Purdue averages per contest this season. In their last matchup, Edey was held to just 17 points on 7-for-9 from the field. The front court combination of Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl is what made it possible, and both are back this year for the Badgers.
Given how tight this battle has been over the years, fans definitely don’t want to miss this matchup. Purdue is 4-6-0 against the spread (ATS), and Wisconsin is 6-3-1 ATS. This is arguably the best sports event on the calendar this weekend, so let’s look at the odds and prediction for Purdue vs. Wisconsin.
Purdue vs. Wisconsin odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Check out the live college basketball betting odds for the Boilermakers vs. Badgers on the top sports betting apps:
Purdue betting news: Edey having his way with opponents
The Boilermaker’s game plan is the same night in and night out – feed Edey. As of late, it has worked to perfection. Purdue’s big man has scored 30 plus points in four of their last six games on nearly 70% from the field. He is also averaging about 17 rebounds in those games. This is the most dominating stretch of his career, and their last game against Northwestern was the ultimate testament to his growth as a player.
After avoiding an upset at the buzzer, Edey scored the team’s first 10 points in overtime to avoid being swept by the Wildcats in extra play twice this season. His play is forcing teams to throw their full weight at stopping him.
Not only is he still having his way, but he is creating even better looks for his teammates. For the year, Purdue is shooting 40.4% from deep, which is fifth in the nation. However, the deep look is still their Achilles heel. In their losses, they either shot badly (26.3% against Northwestern), or they shot too many (33 attempts against Nebraska).
The supporting cast is going to be critical in this one, as Edey hasn’t had very big games against the Badgers in his career.
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Wisconsin betting news: Badgers’ shooters in a zone
After keeping Edey in check, scoring points is the next biggest key to victory for the Badgers. Fortunately for them, their leading scorer AJ Storr is in a groove. He has scored 28 points in back-to-back games now shooting 50% percent from the field in both. In their recent loss to Nebraska, he also went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
In the Boilermakers’ two losses this season, they have allowed teams to shoot 50% or better from deep – 10-for-20 (50%) against Northwestern and 14-for-23 against Nebraska (60.9%). Storr shoots 33.3% from deep on the season, so him having an above average night from deep will be critical in this one.
If Storr does have a big night, he’ll need the team’s sharpshooter Max Klesmit to join the party. Klesmit shoots 41.4% from deep this season and has connected on at least three deep attempts in four of their last six games.
His scoring is heavily relied upon. In three of Wisconsin’s five losses, Klesmit has not hit the double-digit mark. He has been rather than off as of late, and they’ll hope for that to be the case in this one.
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Wisconsin vs. Purdue prediction
The game will be tight due to the Badgers’ familiarity with Purdue and Edey. However, their primary scorers are a bit more streaky scorers, which is likely to rear its ugly head in the tight moments.
Prediction: Purdue ML
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